Phantoms of Future Past
by Phantom0802
Summary: Based on "The Forgotten Hero" by TheWhiteTitan. After being betrayed by the Teen Titans, Danny is trying to figure out what to do with his life. In his search he'll come across a particular group of mutants, and a certain southern belle. Meanwhile, Dan returns to bring devastation to the entire universe. Will Danny save the universe, or sit back and watch?
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Marvel, or D.C. All of the characters belong to their respective owners.

**A/N: Hey everybody, this is Phantom0802. This is the first chapter of my story. I just wanted to thank SaiyatonianSage for beta reading this. I also want to thank TheWhiteTitan for giving me permission to use ideas from his story. His story is called The Forgotten Hero, and I recommend you give that a read, because its really good. I also want to say that this story will have some gore, the amount of gore will depend on how well my writing can do it. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Also there may or may not be smut in this story. I haven't decided. This is also my first story, so I just want to apologize if it seems like it was written by an amateur. I just had a cool concept in my head and I just wanted to make something out of it. If this story does bomb, then the only thing I can do is learn from my mistakes. Anyway comment your thoughts and I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 1:

The Beginning of the End.

Humanity has seen several instances of violence and loss of life in the past. These include; wars, famine, and disease. All things that have brought misery to mankind, and all other forms of sentient life in the universe. However there was nothing that could top the horrors of what had just recently occurred. An event full of brutality, hatred, death, and hopelessness. For millennia, the universe and its inhabitants have always lived their lives freely and sometimes selfishly, with no regard to the consequences that would befall them. Some would get away with the things they've done, with no punishment ever being received. Others would keep doing the things they've done, believing that it was the right thing. People enforcing their wills on others, believing that their philosophy was something everyone should follow. As time went on hate and oppression was something that all sentient life would force on each other. It was something that's been going on since the dawn of the universe. If everyone knew the consequences of their actions, then a lot of bloodshed could have been avoided. In the end all of the negative emotions that they brought into this world would leave them at the mercy of one particular being. In the end, the universe would be forced to witness families being split apart, the guilty receiving their punishment, innocents being caused in the crossfire, and all social hierarchies being destroyed. The events that followed would bring an apocalypse that no sane person would wish on anyone.

"The universe will never be the same."

These were the thoughts that were going through Clockwork's head. As the ghost of time, he had been given the duty of watching over the time stream. To make sure that time will keep on going. To bring a brighter future for the world. He sees not only the path that the time stream will take, but all the twists and turns it may take. Or not take.

However, despite the millions of years watching over the timeline, he has never encountered an individual quite like Danny Phantom. Once, he was nothing, but a simple teenager named Danny Fenton. That all changed when he turned fourteen. What happened was that Daniel's parents were ghost hunters. They spent their entire career on building inventions to aid them in their quest to dissect a ghost. To learn the secrets of those who died and came back. Their newest invention was a portal that would lead to the Ghost Zone. When it came time to activate it, the portal could only spark, let alone tear a hole in the spirit dimension.

While the two ectologists sulked at their apparent failure, Danny explored the portal. His life changed forever when he pressed the on button while inside the portal. From there, he wasn't human nor was he a ghost. He was a human-ghost hybrid, a being that was neither dead nor alive. He had the ability to transform into two forms, his human form and ghost form. He could turn invisible, walk through walls, fire beams of ectoplasmic energy, and fly. Struggling with his powers at first, the young poltergeist would later master his abilities. Clockwork saw this boy grow to use his powers to protect his hometown from any malevolent spirit that wished it any harm.

A boy who became a hero that protected the innocent. He gave it his all to make sure no one would get harmed by the ghosts that infested the town. He sacrificed his personal life, his free time, his grades, and his health to make sure that the citizens of Amity Park could sleep well at night. Danny was a guy who had so much potential and could have been another example of the heroes that this world offers. After all, there were hundreds of superheroes that existed in the world. Heroes like Superman, Spider-man, and Captain America. Like them, Danny would have had his time to shine and show the world what he was capable of. Sadly, the hybrid's potential was destroyed by society. To be cast out by others who were scared of his powers to understand him. To be seen by others as a threat to their own existence. Even other superheroes such as the Avengers and the Justice League grew wary of his power. He was potentially the most dangerous thing on the planet. Despite all the good he did for the world, he was an outcast to everyone around him.

A good chunk of the superhero community had a distrust towards the ghoul because of what he was. As a ghost he was seen as unpredictable and potentially dangerous to those he encountered. He recalled all the things that were said about Daniel and what he was. Thanks to Jack and Maddie being the first scientists that studied ghosts, their hypothesis that ghosts were creatures that couldn't feel was seen as fact by the rest of the world. The Fentons would always prattle on about how ghosts were to be destroyed at all costs to protect the human race. While some superheroes associated with the supernatural and magic believed that ghosts were creatures that could easily be led astray. However, all of this distrust became meaningless after what had happened to young Daniel at the hands of those he once called friends. Clockwork closed his eyes in sadness at the fate that fell on Danny. He knew that what they did to the heroic phantom would live with him for the rest of his life.

The ancient spirit's thoughts were soon interrupted by a persistent banging that was echoing throughout the tower. With a sigh, Clockwork turned to a thermos that was for a lack of a better term obliterated. It was littered with dents that pretty much covered the entire surface. One would assume from looking at it that something tried to punch its way out. An imprint of a face that looked like it came straight out of hell was also present on the device. The smile on its face screamed malice and pain for anyone that got its attention. This was Dan, a version of Danny from an alternate timeline. A version, where he just gave up on being a hero because of all the pain he endured. Losing his friends and family to an explosion, and scarring him for life. He would then eradicate his human half and go on to terrorize all who opposed him. All life would've gone extinct if Clockwork hadn't interfered. He was able to bring the past Daniel to see the future. Horrified at what he saw, Daniel tried to change it, but Dan wouldn't allow himself to be erased. A battle occured between the two and in the end Dan was trapped in the fenton thermos, a device that was used to contain ghosts. Daniel was able to change the future and erase all of the destruction Dan caused. Unfortunately, Dan was able to exist outside of time thanks to one of Clockwork's medallions. This left Clockwork with the task of watching over the thermos and keeping Dan contained.

"You know this thing won't hold me for long." Clockwork looked at the thermos that was the source of the voice. "I'll get out, and when I do, I'll kill everything that's in my path."

Clockwork sighed with a face full of resignation. "I know and the mortals will be forced to watch as you unleash a Hell on Earth."

"You're saying that like you don't care what happens to the mortal world."

"They brought it on themselves with their betrayal, bigotry, arrogance, and desire to have everything under their control."

"Now they will be forced to watch as I bring the apocalypse. I can't wait to see the look of despair on their faces, as I take away everything that they hold dear. All of them will face my wrath."

"Even if you do, you know that in the end you still won't win."

"Nobody has the power to stop me and you know that."

"What about your past self?"

"After everything those parasites put him through, I doubt that he would come to defend them." Clockwork nodded at what Dan had said. It would be extremely unlikely that Daniel would come through for the world. However, he knew what paths the future would take. "Maybe, maybe not, but now it's almost time for judgement day, the beginning of the end." Clockwork knew he wouldn't be able to stop Dan. Even locked up, he was still able to grow stronger. Even Clockwork was shocked to discover the amount of power that Dan had gained. Although it was inevitable.

Through looking at the time stream, Clockwork gazed in horror at the amount of powers that Dan had gained and would unlock. It was as if, the vengeful phantom somehow ascended into a higher state of being. Like he became a primordial being like Clockwork himself. Now he could ultimately take on the entire universe by himself. The heroes of the world wouldn't be able to handle something like him.

Dan would need to be killed if one wanted to stop him. However, most heroes refuse to kill their enemies, because they think that it makes them no better. Despite the fact that by locking them up, they would only escape and cause more deaths and misery. There would be those who would try to kill Dan regardless, but they would be too weak to stop him. Some would be too consumed by their arrogance to see that they would stand no chance against Dan. Without Daniel, the universe was doomed.

Now all sentient life would be at Dan's mercy. Or lack of.

Suddenly, a huge explosion came from the thermos. As the blast ended, Clockwork looked at the bits and pieces that were left of the thermos. He then turned to the time portal and saw everyone go on with their day, unaware of the horrors that await them.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The sagely ghost soon turned his attention to the now free Dan Phantom. With a bloodthirsty smile, Dan fired an ectoblast at the time master. Clockwork got out of its path and fired his own. Only to be blocked by an ectoshield from the demon phantom who rolled his eyes at the attack. The Dark Phantom charged at his adversary with a punch that sent him through the walls.

Despite the pain, Clockwork managed to get up and glare at his opponent. He then summoned a group of other clockworks. All wearing different clothing from different eras in time. Dan snorted at this and split himself into four phantoms. The two groups charged at each other and what happened next was a series of ectoblasts firing everywhere, punches and kicks being exchanged, duplicates being thrown all around the tower.

One version of Clockwork would have its head ripped off, another would be incinerated by Dan's ectoblasts. Clockwork was trying to use his time staff to protect himself from any of the ectoplasms. The time ghost screamed in pain as Dan put his palm on the primordial's face, using his ecto energy to burn it, as steam began to rise from Clockwork's face. He then sent an underhanded punch straight towards Clockwork's jaw. His scepter was then snatched by Dan, who proceeded to start beating him with it.

Clockwork tried in vain to take the blows, but Dan's strength made them too much to bear. Every time he received a punch, it felt like someone was dropping an anvil on him. Although his nerves were nonexistent, it was like someone was setting them on fire. He was then grabbed by his ghostly tail and was thrown right into his bookshelves, smashing it to pieces. Over time he started to bleed out ectoplasm, as the assault continued.

Fortunately, a caveman duplicate of Clockwork smacked Dan away with his club. The Time Master got up and glared at his opponent. "Time out." he said with a push of a button on his scepter. Expecting Dan to freeze in time he was shocked to discover Dan still standing there.

"I thought you said you knew everything Clockwork, even the part about me being immune to your chronokinesis thanks to your medallion," Dan jeered. "You shouldn't keep something like that around it comes back to haunt you." A glow of blue energy began to appear around his body. Growing brighter and brighter like a supernova, Clockwork was channeling all of his power to form until Clockwork fired it out of his hands towards the fallen hero.

This attack would be pointless, as Dan summoned a ghost shield to protect him. "Is this the best the so-called Master of Time can offer?" Dan questioned. "Pathetic, your losing your touch Clockwork." Advancing towards Clockwork like a lion about to devour its prey, when he reached him, he gazed down at the Time Master. He then took a breath in and unleashed his ghostly wail.

Waves and waves of energy were upon Clockwork as he tried in vain, to get up. The vibrations started to cause most of the tower to fall apart. Clocks and gears were breaking all over the place. His duplicates were also fading away from the sonic scream. Only the main chamber was still standing. Clockwork was severely injured, sporting cuts and bruises all over his face, sporting matching black eyes, he was even struggling with floating.

"It's over Clockwork, it's only a matter of time before I beat you, and go on to destroy everything," Dan mocked. All the duplicates were defeated, leaving the two ghosts alone. Clockwork knew that deep down Dan was right. He wasn't a ghost that was known for combat. He would only end up being destroyed. Looking at Dan with a serious stare Clockwork stated, "You're right, I can't beat you and my attempts will just be in vain, but if you keep this up your time will eventually run out." Saying his last thoughts, Clockwork soon vanished into the wind.

Satisfied that his opponent had fled, Dan turned to the time portal and began to observe what was going on. The time portal showed a middle aged man at a podium in front of a huge audience. Dan could see that the crowd was cheering at what the man was saying.

"Mutant registration is the only way that we can sleep easy at night with all of those mutants out there. If I'm elected president I will make sure that the American people won't have to deal with the mutant menace that's going on." The man smiled as the audience's cheering became even louder. This was Senator Kelly, a man who believed that mutants should be forced to register to protect the rest of humanity. Even though mutants were still human, they just had powers and other gifts. Looking at the crowd, Dan could see some people holding signs like "Send the Muties to the moon" or "Mutants are a disease". The Specter could only snort at how narrow-minded humans could be. Automatically hating something different just because they're out of the norm. Dan would relish in seeing the life leave their eyes after he gave each and every one of them an excruciating death. He would rip the flesh from their bones and hear them whimper in agony. It wouldn't just be the earth, the entire universe will be annihilated. All living things will come to know Dan as the harbinger of death. He then gave a sadistic smile at the man he was looking at.

"Lets have some fun."


	2. Chapter 2: Victims of Society

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Marvel, or D.C. All of the characters belong to their respective owners.

**A/n: Hey everybody, I'm back with the second chapter. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up. This chapter will focus on some OCs that I made. Now don't worry, these people will not be main characters, this will be the only time that you see them. I know how everybody hates OC's and I just wanted to say this will be the only time you'll see them. Although they might make small cameos in future chapters, bit that's it. These characters are ghosts and the only point of making them, is that I wanted to give you readers a look into the existence of an average ghost, and the suffering that they have to go through. Most of the ghosts in the show don't really have any backstories on who they were. For this story I wanted to use the idea that some ghosts were people who were wronged in society when they were alive. This concept will come back in later chapters. I got inspired when I was reading stuff about ghosts who are basically spirits of vengeance. I also have certain themes that I want to be in the story and I thought the ghosts could be used to help represent those themes. These include things like; vengeance, corruption, and trying to deal with an inner pain. I thought it would be interesting to have the ghosts be a result of humanity's senseless actions, and a kind of representation of humanity's dark side. It seemed interesting to write, and it could possibly provide commentary on society. **

Chapter 2:

Victims of Society.

10 years ago

"GO BURN IN HELL, YOU MUTIE FILTH!"

David was done with the world. He was done with it for quite some time. All the torment and abuse he was forced to endure from mankind had taken his toll on him. David observed his arm and noticed a new scar that was present on his body. It didn't stick out compared to the hundreds of others that littered pretty much every part of his skin. Quite a few were given to him from those that saw David as an easy person to rob or rough up for the fun of it. Most of them, like the thug who just assaulted him a few seconds ago, were from the countless number of assholes that wanted to show him how unwanted he was. All because of the power that came from the gene that he inherited from his father. David's eyes started to tear as the thought of family intruded into his mind.

His father Greg, was gone. His father's eyes that were once filled with compassion and love, were nothing, but a fading memory to young David. His mother on the other hand, David never knew. He never had any pictures to know what she looked like, and his father would always tear up when David asked anything about her. It was only when he was twelve did he manage to get the story out of his father. Greg told his child that his mother was the only human worth caring about in the world. That she treated his father with love and understanding, and that she was ecstatic when she found out she was pregnant. They were a happy family with a bright future ahead of them.

David started to sob silently when he remembered how the story ended. Those FOH dogs found his family and tried to take them out in blind prejudice. He was only an infant when they came for his family. His father told him how he fought with his entire being to protect David and his mother. Greg managed to take down several of the soldiers and it looked like everything would be alright. Until a couple of them pulled out their flamethrowers. Next thing his parents knew, the house was being burned down by the flames. In the struggle Greg was separated from David and his mother, who were forced to flee in different directions to escape the house. They ended up taking different routes in the forest that was behind their house in order to escape. David's father was able to deal with the attackers pursuing him. He thought that once he got rid of them, they would be able to rebuild everything and continue on with their lives, until he heard a sound that made him pale with absolute dread. A sickening scream of fear and misery was made, before a resounding gunshot followed. Using all the speed that he could muster, Greg raced to the source and the sight that he encountered would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his existence.

The remains of his wife greeted him all of her blood and brain matter from her head was all over the grass, and cradled in the arms of her body was their son. Greg turned his head to see the bigot with his smoking gun. In a flash, the angry father had his hands around the murderer's head and was squeezing it with all his might. He poured everything into this attack; his hatred, his despair, his grief, and his misery. Before he knew it, the man's head exploded like a water balloon, spraying everything onto his attacker. Greg looked at the body as he let it fall to the ground. Despite the graphic death, he thought it wasn't enough, he wanted that man to experience the loss and hopelessness that he made him deal with. He wanted him to cry out for mercy. His thoughts of vengeance were interrupted by an infant's crying. Greg turned and saw his son, still alive in the arms of his dead mother.

Their bright future was now a living hell, as father and son were forced to live in this world with the constant threat of being taken down by anyone who knew what they were. Greg couldn't get a decent job because no one would hire an abomination. They were forced to live on the streets for a good majority of time. Fighting to survive and see another day. While dealing with the world that made them feel abandoned, unwanted, and unloved. However, they still had each other to rely on, to keep them sane. He had his father to help him survive for fourteen years.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the world wasn't done with beating David down. While trying to find something to eat the two were caught between a brawl between some superhero and supervillain. David didn't know their names and he didn't care that he couldn't recognize them. The superheroes never bothered to help his family or any other mutant, they just cared about protecting the status quo. It would seem that superheroes would give the young mutant another reason to hate them. As during the fight the supervillain ended up noticing the two mutants and fired a plasma blast at the two, launching them into different directions. While trying to pick himself off from the ground David found the super villain standing three feet away from him. A sickening smile forming on his face he lifted his arm and was about to finish David, when his father tackled the bastard. The anger of a protective parent fueling him, Greg snapped the villain's neck, making sure he would never try to harm his son again. The situation would only get worse, as his father was then arrested by the superhero, who was calling him things like "criminal" and "monster" as he was apprehended. His father was then escorted into custody by the so-called hero.

He would never see his father again.

David tried to fight back the tears, but it was pointless. The world took everything from him. It just wasn't fair that everyone hated him just because he was different. Why couldn't fate give him a break. Why couldn't all those bastard humans just die? They were all monsters that deserve nothing, but extinction. What he would give just to get back at everyone for all the atrocities they committed against him and his family.

"THERE'S THE FREAK, LETS GET HIM!"

Right before David's eyes, an angry mob appeared with sneers of disgust written on all of their faces. This was the final straw. David didn't care about the moral repercussions of what he was about to do, he just wanted all of them to suffer. He aimed his hands at the crowd, preparing to blow them to kingdom come. Sadly, nothing happened because the young boy didn't have enough energy.

It was then David's miserable life would end up being cut short. As the crowd surrounded him and started to punch and kick the poor kid while he was down on the ground. The poor youth tried to take the beating and hoped it would just end, that they would have their fun and then leave alone. He could then heal his wounds somewhere, and be able to carry on with his life. He wished for it to be over with and done, but it seems his wish was futile, as the attack continued for what seemed like hours. Some of members of the crowd actually had the gall to start spitting on the poor boy. Others were shouting hateful slurs at the top of their lungs. The pain would be the last thing he would ever feel.

Present

David sighed sadly as he drifted through the endless void that was the Ghost Zone. His endless misery wouldn't just stop. Not even death could stop the depression that was inside him. The ghost zone to David was even worse than the mortal one. Every part of the Ghost Zone that he had been to just oozed sadness and loss. Most of the spirits he encountered had the same broken look on their faces just like David did. Although David did make some friends with others who had tragic deaths, nothing could stop the everlasting emptiness that filled his entire being.

"Hey David." Snapping out of his thoughts, he brought his attention to the owner of that voice. There he saw his friend Grace looking at him with a bland look that conveyed no emotion, this wasn't something that was out of place for his friend. Grace was a middle aged woman who's life was ruined and destroyed by her abusive boyfriend Rick. He felt pity for his friend when he remember the other things she told him. How nobody believed her because her boyfriend made her out to be a slut. Even though, it was her boyfriend who was the adulterous one.

Soon Grace would find herself pregnant, and in nine months a new member to the dysfunctional relationship was added. The child's existence made Grace's life even more difficult as she now had to protect her child from Rick's drunken fits of rage. Eventually it all took its toll on her, and she decided to end it once and for all. When Rick came home one night he suddenly met a bullet right between his eyes. The police ended up getting involved, and Grace was sent to prison, while her child was put into foster care. The rest of her life was spent in prison, as she ended up being killed in a prison riot.

When she came back as a ghost, she tried to find her child back in the human world. Only to be hunted down by the Guys in White and any other ghost hunter looking to capture a ghost. Everyone one else she encountered just fled in terror from her. Even her own child, as when she finally found him in his new home, he ended up crouching in the corner of his room, crying for her to leave him alone and to not hurt him. Now Grace wandered the Ghost Zone aimlessly, with the constant aura of sadness around her. Ever since David encountered her in the spirit world, she never showed any emotions at all. She just spoke in a bland emotionless voice, and that was only when she actually felt like talking. Although there were times that David found her weeping when she thought she was alone.

They weren't the only ones to suffer horrific fates in life. There were the other lost souls that David was on friendly terms with. There was Drake, who was an African-American, who was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan in the fifties. Spencer, a teenager who was beaten to death by his father, when he discovered that his son was a homosexual. Finally, there was Alexandra, who died because the paramedic refused to treat her when he found out she was transgender. Jason, who was bullied until he committed suicide. They were all fated to spend the rest of their existence in the ghost zone, with their horrid pasts forever haunting them.

"Whats up?" he finally replied.

"Have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

"There's a new ghost king." David was sputtering in disbelief, the last ghost king was Pariah Dark, a tyrant who's lust for conquest made him one of the most vile ghosts in existence, he was also incredibly powerful. It took the combined powers of the ancients to subdue him, and they were only able to put him into an eternal slumber. The ghostly dictator would later awaken again, only to be put back to rest by the famed hybrid Danny Phantom. Even Phantom was only able to subdue him, and he had to use some suit that increased his power level. If one were to become the Ghost King they would have to destroy the previous one.

"How is that possible?" he asked. "Pariah Dark is the most powerful being in the Ghost Zone, the only ones who could match him in power are the ancients and Danny Phantom, and they were only able to subdue him. It would take a god to actually destroy him."

"Well then I guess a god did it," Grace replied in an uncharacteristic snarky tone. "And now this god is charge of this shithole."

"Well why did this supposed god do it anyway?" David asked. "Pariah Dark was already sealed up, so there was no point in destroying him anyway."

"I guess he just wanted the title of king then," Grace assumed with a shrug. David thought about it and it made sense, if one wanted to be king they would have to overthrow the person who was currently king. If there was a new ghost king then it meant that he or she actually destroyed Pariah Dark. To accomplish that, this ghost must've had some powers. A shiver went down his nonexistent spine at the amount of power this new king had. He wondered if this ghost would be just as cruel or even worse than Pariah Dark.

"Why are you telling me this anyway?" he questioned.

"The new king just announced that he wants every ghost within the area to come to Pariah's Keep. Although now that I mention it, it wouldn't be called Pariah's Keep anymore because he's gone," Grace stated as she continued to ramble, which was unusual if you knew her history. She stopped when she realized that she was getting off topic. "Nevermind that, the new king just wants every ghost near the area to report to his castle. Apparently he has some big news that he wants to share". Seeing that there was nothing else to do, David followed Grey as the two headed in the direction of Pariah's Keep. The two wondered who this new king could possibly be. Both of them had a small amount of hope that maybe, just maybe this new king wouldn't be as cruel as the last one. That the new king would actually try to make the Ghost Zone a better place, and that he may be able to help them and their friends deal with this feeling of emptiness that consumed their cores.

**A/N: And there's the second chapter. I'm sorry if you were expecting to see Dan or Danny in this chapter, but I wanted to do some world building. I promise that the next chapter will have Dan. Anyway, go ahead and comment on your thoughts.**


	3. Chapter 3: The New King

**A/N: Hey I'm back with a new chapter. Just as I promised this chapter will star Dan. I hope you enjoy. Once again thanks to SaiyantonianSage for beta reading my story. Also thanks to TheWhiteTitan for giving me permission to base this story off of his. Leave a review, follow, and favorite.**

Chapter 3:

The New King

All around the Ghost Zone, the ghosts were gathering around what was known as Pariah's Keep. The news of Pariah's destruction and a new king was spreading through the Infinite Realm's like a forest fire. Many wondered how much power did this being wield, and whether it would rule with an iron fist like its predecessor. This apprehensive curiosity was something they all shared, as they gathered around the castle. Many were conversing among themselves, wondering how much everything would change now that there's a new ruler.

"So, any idea what this new king is like?" questioned a certain rock star ghost known as Ember McClain. She remembered how much of a monster the previous king was, and she hoped to God that this one wouldn't be the same.

"Whoever it is, he must possess unspeakable power if he was able to actually destroy Pariah Dark." her boyfriend responded. He was a huge mechanical ghost with flaming green hair. This was Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter.

"Well he can't be as bad as old Pariah was right?" This came from a female biker ghost known as Kitty, who was there with her boyfriend Johnny 13.

"I don't know babe, but let's just hope that we won't be forced to flee our homes like last time." her boyfriend stated.

"All I know is that this ghost will now be the one who makes the rules." stated Walker, a ghost of a warden, who saw it as his purpose to punish anyone who broke the rules.

"I just hope he won't be a bully." said Poindexter, a nerdy ghost who despised bullies with a passion.

"LOOK UP THERE!" a random ghost shouted. All of them gazed their eyes at one of the balconies, where the Fright Knight was standing. The Fright Knight was an ancient and powerful ghost. What made him a being you didn't want to cross was his sword, the Soul Shredder. It's said that if he strikes you with it, you would be brought to another dimension, surrounded by your worst nightmares. In the ancient days, the Fright Knight served as Pariah Dark's second in command, although he wasn't as loyal as one thought he would be.

The Fright Knight's presence only seemed to certify the idea that there was a new king. All of the ghosts that helped Danny Phantom beat Pariah Dark, knew that the Fright Knight turned against the ghost king. So it would seem likely that he swore his loyalty to a new king, rather then come back crawling to Pariah.

"Citizens of the Ghost Zone." Fright Knight spoke with authority. "I have come now to present your new king. All hail Lord Dan." With those words spoken the new king walked out onto the balcony. The crowd that gathered around the castle, took a moment to take in his appearance. He was a muscular being with blue skin, who wore a black and white jumpsuit with a cape. His eyes were red with malice, and he had a raging fire serving as hair. All of the ghosts gasped at the appearance of this newcomer. He radiated power, dominance, and ruthlessness. Present on the center of his chest was a particular symbol, a D with a P inside. The ghosts who recognized this symbol were even more shocked. This symbol belonged to Danny Phantom, the famous halfa who would always beat them whenever they would try and attack Amity Park. While the Phantom they knew was a teenager with an annoying sense of justice, this one was an adult who looked like a literal demon straight out of hell.

The dark phantom grinned at the audience that was before him. He took satisfaction in the fear that all the ghosts showed towards him. Hoping that he wouldn't be as merciless as his predecessor. He also took a sick sense of pride in the fearful glances that his past enemies were giving him. It was almost as exhilarating as annihilating Pariah Dark from existence. It was nice to put old horn head in his place, the only thing that Dan didn't count on, was the battle being easier than he expected it to be.

**Flashback:**

_In the depths of the Ghost Zone, Dan was currently flying towards a destination that was pretty much abandoned. Pariah's Keep was the home of the legendary ghost king, Pariah Dark. In his previous life as Danny Phantom, he once fought Pariah Dark and it was a battle so deadly that it almost killed him. Luckily, he was able to seal him back up in his prison, but now he would be awakening Pariah. After all, the Dark Phantom needed a warm up, since he was locked in that thermos. Once he destroys the ghostly overlord, Dan would then bring devastation to the rest of the ghost zone, and later the mortal world. Since the ghost zone and universe were infinite, he would spend eternity bringing destruction to all he encountered. Now most people would want to be the ghost king because of the power from the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire, or the armies of skeletons that would obey them. Dan however wanted it so he could be in a position to get the dead to follow him. To bring out their vengeance towards those who wronged them, and unleash them onto the mortal realm. He thought it would be fitting that the living would have to face the consequence of their actions from the dead. He bring both realms into chaos, and watch as they destroyed each other in their own pettiness._

_Soon Dan arrived at the old castle and made his way to the throne room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the giant sarcophagus that was in the room. Using his control of ectoplasm he created a new skeleton key. There he inserted it into the keyhole and after unlocking it he opened it to gaze at the sleeping form of Pariah. The behemoth woke up with a start and immediately made his way out of the prison. Once he confirmed that he was awake again he turned towards the one who released him._

_"YOU! You resemble the one who previously sealed me." the ghost snarled._

_"I was, but I grew out of it." Dan responded. "Now that we got the pleasantries out of the way lets get down to business, I'm here to give you a one way ticket to oblivion."_

_"ARROGANT PEASANT!" cried Pariah. "I see that you are still unaware of your place. I'm the most powerful being in existence. In our last battle, I distinctly remember you being overwhelmed with your own power. You also don't have your fancy toy with you now, so what makes you think you can beat me this time?"_

_"Because this time, I'm the one with the most power here." Dan stated with a tone of finality. The battle started with Pariah getting a punch to the face knocking him back. Growling, the titanic spirit charged and was about to bring his mace down on this upstart when he moved out of the way in the blink of an eye. Dan commenced his next attack by hiring his ecto blasts at Pariah. Taking the blasts, the ghost king was able to keep his footing, and threw his mace at his opponent. Unlike the previous time, when Dan flew out of the way, Pariah was able to grab him by his cape. Now having a hold on his enemy Pariah threw Dan with all of his might. Sending him through the walls and into a different room. Approaching where he threw Dan, he saw that he had vanished._

_BAAM! Dan charged at Pariah with his back turned. Sending the both of them outside. Landing on the ground. Pariah pushed Dan off him and the two stared at each other for a couple of minutes, trying to read what the other's next move would be. After a couple of minutes, both of them fired their ghost rays. There the two beams of energy met contact and the resulting explosion pushed the opponents backwards. Blinded by the smoke of the explosion, Pariah was too late to dodge Dan coming straight towards him. Grabbing onto his face, Dan started punching him repeatedly. Enduring the painful strikes, Pariah was about to knock Dan away with his mace, but again Dan moved out of the way, causing Pariah to hit himself in the face. Wincing in pain, he was unable to notice Dan was on his head before he ripped off one of his horns. He then drove it into Pariah's stomach, causing large amounts of ectoplasm to leak from the wound._

_Screaming in pain Pariah could only watch as Dan took a breath in before letting out his most powerful attack, the ghostly wail. Sending Pariah backwards, Dan teleported to where Pariah would land and with an ecto blast sent him flying into another direction. Landing unceremoniously on the ground, a huge wave of fury consumed his entire being._

_"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR INSOLENCE!" Pariah shouted, "LET ME SHOW YOU THE POWER OF THE KING OF THE INFINITE REALMS!" Bringing his fists together he unleashed a huge red blast of energy towards Dan, hoping to finally destroy his adversary. Once the beam hit Dan, a huge explosion once again blinded Pariah. As the smoke cleared again, he turned to the huge crater that was left in the ground. His eyes widened in disbelief at the sight that greeted him._

_Standing right in the center of the crater, was Dan who didn't have a scratch on him and was sporting a bored look on his face._

_"Is that all you got?" he mocked, "Let me show you what real power is." Right before his eyes Pariah was surrounded by hundreds of duplicates of Dan. Together they unleashed all of their ghost rays on Pariah. The Ghost King was feeling a constant pain that was currently flowing through him. It was as if he was an ant and Dan was shining a huge magnifying glass over him. The only thing that Pariah Dark could think of was how did this being get so powerful. The last time that they dueled he was nothing, but a runt. Now its like he was a god, passing vengeance on those he deems deserving of it. All he could do now was scream in agony, while desperately hoping for it to stop._

_Unfortunately, his hopes were in vain, as the phantoms just kept on attacking. They all had smirks on their faces, as they took a sick enjoyment out of the suffering of their soon dead rival. To think that they almost died to this pathetic bastard in their past life._

_Minutes passed, but for Pariah it felt like hours, it wasn't till he realized that his core was giving out. It was over, Pariah would be gone, every conquest and every battle he had ever won would now be rendered pointless. He would never be known as the fearless ghost king anymore. His time was coming to an end. In what he believed to be his last moments, Pariah finally realized that he wasn't the most powerful being, Dan was._

_He then noticed that he was slowly starting to melt away. His feet were currently melting into a green puddle of ectoplasm. Pariah felt himself shrink as his body started to melt away. His armor and skin were starting to become more hollow, as ectoplasm came out. 'It can't end like this.' he thought, 'I thought that with the crown and ring I would be invincible?' That was until he put his hand on his head and realized that the crown was gone. 'I forgot the boy took it off during our last duel.' Glaring towards is assailants he could only wish for the strength to destroy them. However, Pariah Dark's time had run out, and with his final thoughts of revenge, Pariah was nothing more than a bunch of green ooze that laid on the ground._

_As the duplicates merged back with the original, Dan took in the remains of the former king. Pariah Dark was only the first of those who would be destroyed at his hand. As other beings would soon meet their end at his hands. He was then taken out of his musings when he saw the Fright Knight approach him. Dan grinned as he saw his faithful servant once again._

_"You did it. You destroyed Lord Pariah." the Spirit of Halloween stated dumbfounded. He then shook himself out of his stupor and addressed his new king. "I am the Fright Knight your majesty, I shall serve you till the end of time my lord." He then noticed the figure and saw the symbol on his chest. His eyes widened as he realized who he's talking to. "YOU! How is this possible? You were nothing, but a mere knave. How did you destroy Pariah Dark?"_

_"Please. That old has been was nothing more than a typical school yard bully that needed to be put in his place." Dan snorted at the very idea of that big oaf being a threat to him. "Now Fright Knight, bow before your new master."_

_Immediately, the Fright Knight dropped to his knees before his new master. Whatever private conversation the two would've had was interrupted when Dan noticed the ground was moving. There, hundreds of skeletons kept crawling out. For the next few moments everything was silent, as the ghostly beings took in the sight of Pariah's destruction. Finally one, started to get on his knees in submission. One by one, its brethren did the same thing. If one were to pass by, they would be greeted with the sight of an army of skeletons bowing to their new master. Dan gave an arrogant smile at the loyalty of his new minions. Soon every ghost would be doing the same._

**Present:**

In Dan's opinion the battle was a bit anticlimactic for him. 'Well beggars can't be choosers' he thought. Now is the time to recruit the dead for the mission ahead. He turned towards the ghosts that were down below and gave a smirk. It was time to give the message of what was to come. "Hello." the flame headed spook greeted. "My name is Dan Phantom and from now on, I'm in charge of this world. I make the rules and I expect you to all obey me."

**A/N: Well Dan has certainly gotten busy since he broke out of that thermos. Now he's the king of the Ghost Zone. What do you think Dan will do next?**


	4. Chapter 4: Familiar Enemies

**Hey everybody. I'm back. I just wanted to say thanks to those who decided to favorite and follow this story. I want to thank SaiyantonianSage for beta reading this once again. I also want to thank TheWhiteTitan for giving me permission to do my own version of his story, _The Forgotten Hero._ Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Feedback is welcome.**

Chapter 4:

Familiar Enemies

Immediately as he said those words, a good majority of the ghosts started to yell and curse at Dan. Saying things such as "Why should we follow you" and "You're just a stupid half-breed, Ghost Boy." At this Dan tightened his fists in anger at what these bottom feeders were calling him. His rage would only increase when some of his former foes started to join in.

"You really think you can tell us what to do dipstick?" jeered Ember, "You're still the same weakling you were before."

"As if anyone would want to follow an abomination like you." Spectra added in, "What are you, a ghost trying to fit in with humans, or some creepy boy with creepy powers?"

"And don't think your new appearance intimidates us either, whelp." Skulker said.

After a few seconds, Dan composed himself and decided that it was time to establish his dominance over these old bastards. He would annihilate his old foes that made his teenage years a living hell. They would be the first to fall, and show the rest of the ghosts what happened when you crossed with Dan Phantom. He then floated down to where the other were.

"Well, I can see some of you doubt me," Dan said with a calm diplomatic voice, "but don't worry, you'll soon see, that I am the way towards greatness."

He then formed a huge ghost shield over him. Giving, him a large amount of space to himself.

"All of those who don't agree with me being king, step forward into this shield."

To Dan's predictions, all of the ghosts that stepped forward were his former enemies.

"Let's get one thing clear." he said. "I'm God around here, you continue to exist because I allow it. You are all nothing, but a bunch of sad losers who couldn't do anything worthwhile, in your pathetic lives. So you decided to take it out on the living, while giving me a lot of shit in the process. The only reason that you died was that you were all pieces of shit, that the world didn't want to put up with. You had no purpose in life, and you have no purpose in death. You're all just a bunch of negative emotions drifting wherever the wind takes you. You're nothing. You're worthless. Now, its time that I put you down like the dogs you are. I'm going to rip your cores out, and make you suffer as I send you straight to judgement."

At this most of the ghosts were shocked at the venom in Dan's voice.

"However, I'll forgive you just this once if you bow before your new king and declare your allegiance to me." Dan offered in a smug voice.

"It is you who will bow down, child!" Technus cried. "I, Technus, will make you tremble in fear with my all powerful technology."

"The only thing you'll be ruling over punk, is your own prison cell." Walker stated.

"Just because you have a new look doesn't mean you can scare us," Spectra taunted, "After were done with you, I'll feed off your oh-so precious misery, which I'll use to remain young forever."

"Don't forget that your pelt will be mine." Skulker added.

"We're going to destroy you, dipstick." Ember declared.

"Then why don't you come in and take me down then, if you think that I'm too weak to be king?" Dan offered. "I'll take all of you down at the same time, just like I did before, you stupid ectoplasmic freaks."

At these words all of Dan's former adversaries glared at him. Technus summoned a bunch of electronics to build an electronic suit. Skulker's prepared his missiles and Johnny 13 summoned his shadow who unleashed a roar towards Dan.

Scoffing at their attempts to scare him into submission, Dan initiated his first attack by slamming his fist into Spectra's face, before elbowing Bertram in the jaw. He then followed up with a kick to Johnny 13's groin and a bitch slap to Kitty, before finally letting out a burst of energy from his body, which pushed everyone back a couple of feet.

"I may have been merciful towards you when I still had some humanity left in me, but now it's time I put you dogs down for good." Dan announced. He then extended his hands and lightning came from his fingertips, before electrifying the group before him. After a few minutes he stopped.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, WHELP!" cried Skulker, but as he finished his threat, Dan suddenly appeared right in front of him. He grabbed Skulker and lifted him off his feet as the demon before him looked into his eyes. He couldn't bear to look away, as it felt like he was staring right into his soul.

"Years and years, I've put up with your pathetic attempts at hunting me, the only reason I spared you time and time again, was that you were never a threat towards me." Skulker eyes narrowed in indignation. How dare the whelp say he isn't a threat?! He was the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter!

"How dare you! I'm the greatest hunter that the Ghost Zone has ever seen!" Skulker cried.

"Don't make me laugh Skulker. You can't even get pass the PDA that still hacks your system. It's time that you learn your true place in the grand scheme of things." Dan mocked, "To be nothing more than an insect that needs to be crushed under foot."

Skulker then felt his former prey put his arm right through his armor, he felt his hand grab his true form. Dan then pulled his arm back out of Skulker's armor and Skulker was now in his palm. At Dan's mercy. All of the other ghosts attempted to come to Skulker's defense, but they were unprepared to deal with the dozens of clones that Dan summoned.

As the clones were dealing with the others, Dan turned his attention back to Skulker. Skulker began to shiver in fear as he realized that his fate was now literally in Dan's hands.

"PLEASE! DONT HURT ME! I'LL NEVER HUNT YOU AGAIN, I SWEAR!" Skulker begged. Dan only gave a sadistic smirk at the so called "greatest hunter."

"Skulker, you and the others helped make my life a living hell. Did you really think it wouldn't come back to haunt you?" Dan stated, "Enjoy oblivion, you weak little cockroach." With those final words towards his old enemy, Skulker saw nothing, but black. He felt pressure being applied on every part of his being. All of the ghosts watching, shrieking in horror as they saw the fate of Skulker.

Dan then threw the armor to the side as he stared at his audience. "Would anyone else care to share their opinions?"

"KILL HIM!" cried Ember in tearful agony. Their shock now dissipating, all of the ghosts started to swarm Dan, intending to rip him to pieces. As soon as they were near in range, they were knocked back by Dan's ghostly wail.

The ghosts were then forced to scatter, as they had to dodge all of the ecto blasts that Dan was firing. Despite the severity of the blasts, most of the ghosts were able to dodge them. Unfortunately, the ones who couldn't such as the Ghostwriter and Youngblood were disintegrated.

Poindexter soon found himself in the same position he was always in during high school. As Dan grabbed him by his underwear, giving him the most painful wedgie that he ever felt in the history of his existence. Dan wasn't done with Poindexter's humiliation, ripping off his underwear he wrapped it around his throat and pulled with all of his might. Clawing at the material around his neck, Poindexter tried to rip the underwear apart. Sadly, he was too physically weak to accomplish the task. The only thing he could do was struggle, until he felt a large pain go through his chest. Looking down he saw Dan's arm right through his chest, holding his core. Crushing it in his hands, Dan was soon rewarded with the sight of Poindexter's lifeless body falling to the ground as he pulled his arm out.

Dan then grabbed Ember by her ponytail, swinging the rock star ghost like a lasso. Using her as a weapon, Dan repeatedly pumped the others using McClain's body. Although Walker got it worse since he was hit in the face by Ember's huge boots. He then threw the punk rock ghost on the floor. He then created a couple of duplicates and sent them to deal with the others. With no distractions, he turned his attention to Ember. Grabbing her by the throat, Dan looked in the fearful eyes of Ember.

"You really think your something special, don't you Ember?" he said. "You're nothing, but a phony."

"I'M NOT A PHONY, DIPSTICK!" she screeched.

"Oh please," Dan replied. "You act like you're the goddess of music, when in reality you're just that kid in class who thinks they're edgy when they're as ordinary as they come. You're nothing more than a pretender trying to be what they're not." Dan snorted at the thought that this bitch was actually a threat to him at one point in his life. He didn't forget how she played and manipulated his feelings. To think he was weak enough to fall for some stupid siren's spell.

He then noticed a blast coming towards him, and raised a shield to protect himself. With Ember still in his hand, he turned towards the one who fired the blast. Before him he saw Desiree, the wishing ghost, granting everybody's desires. Throwing Ember away, he flew towards Desiree, and stopped when he was in talking distance. Creating an ectoplasmic dagger, he threw it towards the wishing ghost.

"I wish for you to kill yourself with that knife," Dan commanded with an evil grin. "I also want it to be very slowly."

"Like I would do something like that, you stupid man," Desiree refused. "I will not grant your wish."

"Didn't you forget, Desiree? You have to grant any wish that you hear. No matter how much you dislike it, and I wish for you to kill yourself slowly."

Desiree suddenly grabbed the knife, acting like she was possessed, which was ironic since she was a ghost. Her arm was inching towards her face on its own. Trying with her all of her might she attempted to drop the knife, but her hand wouldn't let go. Her arm pointed it at her delicate and beautiful face, as it slowly got closer and closer.

"NO MAKE IT STOP!" she cried. "I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT! JUST PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" Tears were pouring down from her as she begged Dan for mercy. Hoping to whoever was listening, that he had any mercy left in him. Unfortunately, her cries would only go unheeded by Dan, as the dagger reached the vicinity of her eye. With a great thrust, she plunged the dagger into her eye, as her screams echoed across the Ghost Zone.

All of the ghosts stopped their assault, and were looking at her in shock, as she repeatedly stabbed herself. Dan only smiled in amusement, finding extreme satisfaction in the wishing ghost mutilating herself.

The menacing phantom soon turned his attention to Spectra and grabbed her in a headlock. Bertrand tried to interfere, but was grabbed by three of Dan's duplicates.

They shoved him down on the floor, as one kept his hands on his shoulders, keeping his back on the floor. Another used his ecto energy to create a huge two man crosscut saw. Bertrand's eyes widened at the sight as be tried to squirm his way out of Dan's grip. His struggles only seemed to make the duplicate holding him down chuckle at his situation.

"Struggle all you want, you little freak. Your not getting away this time." The Phantom holding Bertrand turned towards the other ghosts. "You want to see a magic trick? Well watch as I cut this little bitch in half." The two dark phantoms holding the saw brought it back and forth as Bertrand began to scream. Anyone else would scream if they were getting sawed in half. Not horizontally like they do in magic shows, but vertically. The small ghost was begging whatever higher power that was out there to stop this torture. His screams began to drown out the laughs of his tormentors.

"LET HIM GO! YOU ABOMINATION!" Spectra cried, as she struggled in Dan's grip. Dan only raised an eyebrow towards the shadow-like ghost.

"I think your the one who's the abomination, Spectra." Dan replied. "After all, what kind of creature has to resort to feeding off others to survive? A weak one if you ask me."

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME! I'M THE MOST GORGEOUS WOMAN THERE I-"

"Oh please" Dan said with a snort "I take one look at you and my genitals shrivel in fear." He then jammed his fingers into Spectra's eyes, relishing in blinding her. He then blasted her with ectoblasts from his eyes. Causing her skin to break, until Spectra was nothing more than an old hag. Even though she was blind, she could still feel her wrinkly skin.

"NO!" she cried out miserably. "My youth, its all gone." Her misfortunes were interrupted by Bertrand's screams coming to an end. The butler looking ghost was nothing, but two halves of a person.

"TA-DAA" one of the Phantoms cheered. "I have split the shape-shifting Bertrand in half."

"I think you cut him in half the wrong way." said another phantom. The other looked at the remains of Bertrand.

"You might be right, but hey, at least its a sight to behold. Don't you agree?" The hysterical laughter of the Phantoms was the answer that followed.

All of the ghosts outside the shield were shocked at the brutality of their new king. While some of the ghosts that were stuck in the shield were now regretting the choice they made. There were others who tried to escape, but they found that the shield wouldn't let them, the only way out was through Dan. While the ghosts were trying to escape, they weren't noticing Spectra, or the fact that she was surrounded by the Phantoms.

"Wow, I though she was hideous before, but this. This is just ridiculous." One of the Phantoms stated.

"The only way someone can be attracted to her, is for that person to be really drunk or really desperate." Another joked.

"I'd say she was beaten with the ugly stick, but I personally think she is the ugly stick." A third one quipped.

Having enough of the banter, the Dans started to beat the ever living shit out of Spectra. Some even used their powers to create objects to smash her with; some being mallets, maces, bats, even a chair. They all kept unleashing their attacks on her. Soon, they stopped leaving Spectra as a bloody pulp. One of the Phantoms stepped towards her and shot lighting out of his hands. Spectra began to struggle as the assault continued, bringing her to new levels of suffering. Much to her relief Dan finally stopped, as Spectra tried to look at him in the eye. Hoping that there was some shred of humanity left in this monster.

"Please" she begged. "Please...have...mercy...please." Dan only starred at her with a blank look on his face. He got down to her level as he continued to stare at her. "Please...Danny...this isn't yo-" Her pleas were cut short as Dan jammed his fingers back into her eyes. Spectra screamed as Dan began to twist his appendages inside, causing ectoplasm to pour out of her sockets. "AGHH! AGHH! STOP! PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STO-" Her request was met as 'Dan twisted her head around. After whimpering in pain for a few seconds, Spectra's body faded away, leaving nothing that showed she ever existed. Dan then got rid of his duplicates and was facing towards the others.

"So," Dan said, "Who will be next on the chopping block? Johnny? Walker? Technus? Come on, who thinks that they have a chance in defeating me?"

In that moment, the whole area was silent. For what seemed like an eternity, all the members of the rogue's gallery gazed at the twisted ghost in fright. Knowing deep down that whoever challenged Dan next would be obliterated. For the next couple of minutes, nobody spoke a word.

"I CHALLENGE YOU!" All of the ghosts turned towards the speaker, with some widening their eyes at who did it. This was going to be interesting. Dan raised an eyebrow as he finally realized who it was.

"YOU WILL TREMBLE IN FEAR BEFORE ME, FOR I AM THE BOX GHOST!" he cried. "WITNESS MY TERRIBLE MIGHT, AS I BRING YOU ON THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION, WITH MY ALL POWERFUL BOXES OF DOOM!" At this declaration the surrounding ghosts were in disbelief. Was this idiot serious? He really thought he could destroy Dan. At best, he might distract him by making him laugh. After all, the Box Ghost was someone who would probably be worth two dollars and fifty cents or less.

"DO NOT FEAR, MY FRIENDS!" he yelled. "FOR I SHALL BE DONE WITH THIS WEAKING IN NO TIME!" With that said, the Box Ghost flew towards Dan, determined to beat him, despite the fact that his chance was the same for a snowball in hell. If there was one positive thing about the Box Ghost, its that he would never give up.

Unfortunately he only flew about 3 feet, before Dan snapped his fingers, causing an ectoplasmic box to surround the Box Ghost. As soon as he was trapped, the box started closing in, crushing him as he cried out in pain. Eventually, the cries went silent. The box disappeared letting the remains of the Box Ghost fall to the ground.

"Well." Dan said, looking confused for perhaps the first time in his existence, "That was...something...I guess." He snapped out of it, as he saw all of the other ghosts flying towards him, using his distraction in an attempt to take him down. He then blasted Johnny's shadow as it faded to death with it's ear-raping shrieks.

"MY SHADOW!" Johnny cried. In anger, he threw a punch towards Dan, who caught it and twisted his arm."

"AHHH!" Johnny wailed. Dan kept his grip on Johnny in one hand, as he used his other to blast the other ghosts coming towards him. With no more interruptions, Dan turned to Johnny.

"Sorry Johnny, but your luck has run out." he said, before grabbing his head as he squeezed it until it burst like a watermelon.

"JOHNNY!" Kitty cried. Her eyes tearing up as she looked at what was left of him. Before a uncontrollable loathing filled her entire being. She glared at Dan will all of her animosity. "I'll send you away, permanently." She was about to unleash her banishing kiss, which would send Dan away to somewhere unknown. Unfortunately Kitty didn't get far as Dan decapitated her with one karate chop to the neck. Ember attempted to hit him with her guitar, before Dan threw it like an axe at her head, killing the rock star wannabe.

"FREEZE!" Walker cried. "I got you now, punk and now it's time that I finally put you into that prison cell I had you in all those years ago. Its time to be locked up once and for all."

"No Walker, this time its you who will be prosecuted."

"I don't think so punk," Walker said smugly. He pulled out of his pocket a familiar object that Dan knew fully well. The Fenton Thermos.

Walker noticed the look of recognition in Dan's eyes. "Yeah, remember this? I managed to get one of my men to steal it from your parent's lab. I thought that town you lived in would be a good prison for you, but now I think that this thermos will do the trick. Say your prayers, Ghost Boy." Walker's expectations were crushed though, when Dan simply pulled the thermos into his hand with his telekinesis. He then pointed the thermos at Technus and captured him, before attaching it to his belt.

"Another failure Walker. I shouldn't be surprised though, you could never contain me. Now its time for your punishment."

"Punishment? What are you talking about, punk?"

"Come on Walker" Dan said mockingly. "You of all people should know the importance of rules. Well I make the rules and you already broke the number one rule. You attacked me. Now as king I will be your judge, executioner, jury, executioner, jailer, and if necessary; your executioner."

"You said that three times."

"What can I say? I like that part of the job." Dozens of ectoplasmic chains popped our of the ground as they all wrapped around Walker's body. As soon as they secured the Warden, they began to pull, each chain pulling in different directions. The chains also began to burn Walker's body as smoke began to rise from the chains.

"Hurts doesn't it?" Dan mocked, "Well don't worry Walker, I'm done with you. I'm going to send you to your own prison, and I found the perfect prison for you. IN HELL!" The chains gave one final tug as they ripped Walker's body apart, as they flung the different pieces of him in different directions. With Walker's demise finished, Dan observed what was left of his enemies.

To his satisfaction he saw all of their corpses, the bloody mess that was all around him began to fade away, he also saw that Desiree finally kicked the bucket after the intense self-harm that Dan made her go through. Getting rid of the shield, Dan returned back to the balcony where he saw all the rest of the ghosts, gazing at him with fear, awe, and respect.

"Now that we got those annoyances out of the way lets get back to business." Seeing no further interruptions Dan continued with his speech.

"As the new ruler of the Ghost Zone, I want to guarantee that the old days of Pariah Dark are gone." A few ghosts started feeling hopeful at that statement. "What Pariah did was try to conquer everything in his path, destroying quite a number of your homes, am I right?" The audience were reminded on how much damage Pariah Dark did. "Well don't you worry, for you see I am planning to protect the Ghost Zone. I will not destroy it like the previous king did." At this the crowd started murmuring.

"Then what are you going to do?" someone asked.

Dan grinned at this. "I am going to destroy the true enemy that is threatening our way of life, the mortals." At this many ghosts shouted in disbelief at Dan's claim.

"How are you going to do that?"

"What does that have to do with us?"

Dan just raised a hand to silence the crowd. "How am I going to do it? Well I can't do it alone, I'm going to need some help," Dan replied innocently. "Together we can bring the mortal world to its knees, and take whatever we want."

This got some indignant shouts.

"Why should we help you?"

"What's in it for us?

"What's in it for you?" Dan replied, "I'll tell you what's in it for you, a chance to get back at the people who made your previous lives miserable. A chance to finish your unfinished business. To bring the whole damn universe on the brink of destruction, after what they did to us, its only fair that we do the same in return."

Many ghosts were shocked at the passion and anger in this statement. A couple of them got the impression that this...whatever he is, went through a lot of pain and trauma.

"Let me ask you this: what have the mortals ever done for you? What has society ever done for you? I'm pretty sure your all victims of society, in some way or another. Haven't you been oppressed, jeered at, thrown away, or robbed of your life because of them?"

At this, the entire audience was silent in reflection. What have the mortals ever done for them? All of their lives they were seen as monsters, demons even. They were never able to find peace because of them. Hell, the only reason that they're in this state of being, is because they were forced like this. Ostracized by the people around them, in life. Forced to go through all the insults, the humiliation, and the negative emotions that everyone threw on them. Only to be forced to spend all eternity with those feelings.

They were tired of experiencing this over and over again, all they wanted was for this torment to be over. Quite a number of the spirits, felt a desire of vengeance. To strike back in retaliation for the way that they've been treated.

Maybe they wouldn't have to go through this pain anymore. If this Dan was being sincere, then they could finally be allowed to achieve their peace. To move on.

"If you want to move on to the next realm: then you have to realize this. The only way to get rid of your pain, is to get rid of the mortals. Stick with me, and you'll have everything you ever desired. However," At this the audience snapped out of their own personal thoughts and focused again on Dan. "It wont be easy, you will have to train really hard, you'll have to fight everything that gets in your path, some of your brothers," Dan gestured to some members of the crowd, "will stand against you, thinking that your path is not the right way, keeping you bound in this lonely state of existence. But don't worry. Follow me and everything will work out. Fight for me and we'll bring hell to the entire goddamn universe."

Cheers and shouts of approval were all that Dan heard, as the crowd declared its undying loyalty to Dan's cause. Dan wasn't stupid though, he knew that there would be some ghosts that would stand in his way, but he would have a good majority serving him. With them on his side, he would bring the universe into a state of chaos.

It would be a dream come true. To witness mortals and spirits fight each other out of their own pettiness, while Dan would watch them, would sneer at them all. To take enjoyment out of all the destruction that would follow. He would spend all eternity torturing and tormenting all who came across him. He would be the end of all worlds. The end of all things mortal.

Dan turned his attention to the shaking thermos on his hip.

"Don't worry my friend, I will have need of your skills in the future."

**A/N: Well there you go. What will Dan do with Technus? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise that the next chapter will be focused on Danny. Anyway leave a review or follow this story. I'm planning on introducing Danny and Rogue in this story some time soon. I'm just trying to figure out which version of Rogue to pair Danny with. Now I just want to say that I hope you stay safe during these times and take care.**


	5. Chapter 5: A Phantom's Tragedies

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. To put it simply, I had to once again look for another beta reader because SaiyantonianSage couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't able to find one, and after some time I decided to release this chapter after a lot of proofreading. Once again, thanks to TheWhiteTitan for giving me permission to base this story off of yours. I do not own Danny Phantom, Marvel, or D.C.**

Chapter 5

A Phantom's Tragedies

_"The Subject is unconscious," came a cold unfeeling voice. "It will not interfere with the surgery, now it is time to start with the removal of the core." The voice, belonging to a man, was currently overseeing the preparation of their captive organism. For years the subject has provided them with the means to combat the dead. To capture ghosts. To cut them apart and observe their biology, to witness the true scientific proof that ghosts were indeed real, and that just like them they could bleed. Now this one would help them in the construction of more powerful weapons to aid them in their goals._

_"SIR!" shouted another voice. "The specimen is gaining consciousness, the anesthetics are not working." The being on the table struggled in his restraints, calling on all of its strength from his years of experience in fighting._

_"KEEP THAT THING RESTRAINED! ACTIVATE THE DEFENSE PROTOCAL!" Surges of electricity came from the arm and leg restraints, electrocuting the patient. The screams of immeasurable excruciation were the only things that were heard, in the dark lab. All it could do was endure the pain, despite knowing that it would never end._

_The poor soul was nothing more than a grotesque torso, with their arms and legs all cut off. Around the people in the room, were jars that were filled with several organs. A heart, a lung, you name it, all of it was preserved for study._

_"Look at him Doctor! He's regenerating at a tremendous speed. We only just removed his limbs a couple of minutes ago and his healing rate is still performing incredibly!" exclaimed one of the surgeons. True to his word, skin and bone were starting to grow back. In only a few minutes did they finally finish their job._

_"Yes, what good fortune that we got one who can grow back as many body parts as it can. It gives us more and more pieces of his autonomy to examine. He will be very beneficial to our research." The poor being can only whimper with the knowledge that he'll have to go through the pain of losing his appendages again._

_"It seems the subject has built an immunity to our anesthetics," the scientist said. "No matter, the surgery will continue as planned, subject #040304 will not interfere, let us start with making incisions near the chest area." The man picked up the bloody scalpel, not bothering to have it sterilized. As he lowered the surgical tool, the pleas of mercy from the patient increased in volume, the closer it got._

_"NO! NO! NO! STOP PLEASE! DONT DO IT!" _

* * *

"AAAHHH" Danny cried as he woke up. Looking around at his surroundings, he was relieved to see that he was only in his apartment. He started to calm down. With his heart in his throat, Danny tried to reassure himself that it was over. He was safe, they couldn't hurt him anymore. It was nothing more than a bad memory, at least that's what Danny wanted it to be.

Finally calming himself down, Danny laid back down on his bed, trying to fall back asleep. Hours passed as he tried to dose off again, but his thoughts just kept him awake. Giving up, he walked out onto the balcony, taking in the sight of the night and the stars. Gazing at them in wonder like he did as a kid, he let his mind drift off. Reflecting on the events that got him here, all the tragedy that he endured.

***Whine***

Danny turned around as he saw Cujo staring back at him. Despite his inability to speak Danny could understand what was wrong with Cujo. The concern in the dog's eyes was pretty obvious.

"Yeah I'm alright. What about you? Did I wake you up?" a shake of the dog's head was his answer. "I see, can't sleep either?" Cujo nodded. "Yeah I know how you feel." Danny said as he sat on his bed. Cujo made himself comfortable on Danny's lap.

"I just can't stop thinking...about...I don't know what...I mean, how do I keep going you know?" Ever since his escape, Danny was uncertain about what to do. What could he do? What should he do?

'Where do I go from here' he thought. Even after a year he still couldn't find an answer. All he's ever done was just live. Not live in the typical sense mind you, but the type of "live" where one just went through the motions. Doing the same routine because they had nothing else to do. All of the joy sucked out of them, leaving nothing, but a living husk of what they once were.

Danny thought back on all he had done since he got out. He was able to land himself a job as a waiter at some Italian restaurant. Using the money he earned he got an apartment, spending his days as a normal human.

'Huh...normal' he thought to himself, 'yeah right' he wasn't normal. Normal people didn't walk though walls, or fly at speeds that no aircraft could compete with. They certainly couldn't lift objects ten times their size or shoot beams of concentrated ectoplasm out of their hands. No matter how ordinary he tried to live his life, he could never escape the inevitable truth. He wasn't normal.

'But then again, there are others like me' Danny scoffed at that idea. Even all those people with powers like him never understood him. He couldn't bring himself to be like one of them. Not after what they did to him.

Tears fell from his eyes, as he reminisced on everything. How his friends and family died. How his parents still didn't accept him, even after finding out his secret.

'I thought that they would still love me. That they would make an exception for me because I was their son.' This was the train of thought that he had as he decided to tell the truth to his parents. Finally tired of all the secrets he reveled his secret. He confessed everything, the portal, the powers, the ghost fights, all of it. He expected to be pulled into a tearful hug as his parents would firmly tell him that they loved him, no matter what. If only he knew that it was a fool's dream.

Instead, he saw fear and alarm in their eyes. They didn't immediately pull out their ghost weapons and start hunting him. So it seemed like a good start. Jack and Maddie still saw him as their son. The only problem was that they couldn't accept his ghost half. To them it was nothing more than a deadly disease that could kill him.

'Sweetie, you don't know what that thing is doing to you. Sure you have powers, but there has to be some negative to this. I mean, ectoplasm is harmful to humans. It could end up killing you.' He could still hear his mother's voice in his head as she lectured him.

'Your mother's right Dann-o. But that begs the question, why hasn't it killed you?' he remembered his father saying in agreement.

Being banned from using his powers was the first step. Then the constant blood samples and questioning of his biology and abilities. With this the two started to study his situation. Weeks of researching ended up giving them a possible theory. They believed that his ghost half was sentient and was slowly trying to take over. That they needed to remove it from him or else he would become a walking meatsuit for Phantom.

'Oh please, I've had these powers for years and that's never happened.' he scoffed. The ignorance of their minds and arrogance in the belief that they were the elite experts of ghosts made his attempts at explaining futile. The distrust and suspicion only continued to build as it finally took force on one fateful day.

* * *

**Flashback**:

Believing that they were saving their son, Jack and Maddie invented a machine that would remove all the ectoplasm in his body. When they told him that it was time to get rid of his powers, he refused. These powers were what made him who he is, he was able to help people and be something greater and he wasn't going to give them up. When talking to him failed, his parents tried to forcefully remove them. A small struggle broke out in the family area as he was caught in an ecto-net.

Ignoring his protests, they brought him down to the lab, where he was put on a table with his arms and legs restrained. Hanging above him was a small cylindrical device that looked like a giant sci-fi gun. As they were warming the machine up, Jack and Maddie explained that the gun, once fired would suck out all of the ectoplasm in his body. Horrified, Danny tried pleading with them. Saying that these powers are good and that not all ghosts are evil. All he got was a dismissive look from them. Realizing that they wouldn't listen to them, he began shouting, hoping that someone might come to his aide.

His attempts paid off as Jazz came down to see what the commotion was. The confusion on her face turned terrified as she saw her little brother strapped to a table. She made a beeline towards him before their father grabbed her and dragged her upstairs. She tried to convince her parents that what they were doing was wrong and that they were gong to hurt Danny.

Her efforts were brushed off by their parents as they told her that what they were doing was the only way to save her brother. That it was best for him. Resulting in him trying to start over, to pick himself off of the ground, and he did. Danny found comrades and people who he thought could accept him. To live his life with kindred spirits.

With his one last hope to keep his powers gone, Danny saw that it was over. Danny Phantom would be gone forever. All of the things that he'd been through would just be a distant memory. He couldn't keep his powers, his parents would never allow it. His parents. The ones who couldn't see the pigheadedness in their actions. They were taking away the one thing that gave him purpose. Stopping his struggling, he turned to his parents and told them that he hated them. All of the love that he had for them was gone. They were nothing, but cruel savages that used science as their excuse for performing their inhumane experiments.

Even as the device hired a red beam down on him, he kept insulting them. Making fun of the fact that they couldn't catch a ghost if it was living under their roof. That they were nothing but a bunch of idiots who even their kids are embarrassed of. Anything that would distract him from the pain of his powers being forced out of him. His insults went quiet as he kept concentrating on holding the ectoplasm in his body. That maybe if he kept holding on the machine would give out.

For what felt like an eternity, Danny was in a tug of war with the machine over his powers. Sweat dripped down his face, as exhaustion was beginning to show, but he couldn't give up. He had to do it, he just had to hold on for a bit longer.

BAANNGG BAANNGG

Looking up towards the door he saw that someone was beating on the door. It had to be Jazz. She wasn't going to give up on him. After a couple more bangs, the door was starting to break as it showed, the perpetrator...or perpetrators.

There he saw his sister, holding an axe along with Sam and Tucker. "GUYS! HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE! Danny cried his hope of salvation now reawakened. Rushing down the stairs, the trio ran towards Danny, before Jack and Maddie got in the way. Shouting and screaming were all that Danny could hear as the two groups argued.

"YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!" Sam cried. "HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO YOUR OWN SON?!"

"I'M TRYING TO SAVE MY SON!" Jack countered. "THAT ECTOPLASM IS INSIDE HIM AND IM NOT GOING TO LET IT KILL HIM!"

"IT'S NOT GOING TO KILL HIM YOU IDIOT!" Tucker all but shouted out. "IT'S A PART OF HIM!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO THIS TO YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD! YOUR SICK! YOUR SICK!' Jazz yelled with undying contempt to the two people that she once called mom and dad.

The group tried to move towards Danny, but Jack and Maddie stood in their way. Not having any more patience with the two so called "geniuses" Sam pulled out her wrist blaster and fired it. The two scientist jumped out of the way as Tucker and Jazz also brought out their weapons, aiming it at the adult Fentons with no hesitation.

"GET BACK YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! STAY AWAY FROM DANNY!" Sam yelled, holding the weapon with itchy fingers, ready to shoot them if it came to that. Tucker and Jazz tried to get Danny off the table, but the restraints wouldn't budge. Their repeated attempts at trying to pry them open, only increased their frustrations.

"We need a key to get him out, we gotta find the key." Tucker stated. Hearing this Sam got closer to the Fentons, still aiming the weapon at them.

"WHERE'S THE KEY! GODDAMMIT! WHERE IS IT!" Sam interrogated. Jack and Maddie didn't answer at first, until Sam threatened them again. "TELL ME WHERE IT IS OR I'LL KILL YOU RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Convinced by her no-nonsense tone, the two complied. Jack pulled the key out and started to slowly walk to Sam. Each step was like setting off a bomb of nerves, apprehension was all around in the air. Reaching grabbing distance from Sam, Jack held out his hand, offering the key in his palm. Slowly reaching towards it, Sam was about to take it, when Jack grabbed her arm, the one that was holding the wrist ray blaster. Struggling to get out of his massive grip, she ended up firing the weapon.

Time seemed to stand still, as the blast headed in the direction that it was going. Straight towards the ghost portal's ecto-filtrator.

The next thing that Danny remembered was a ringing in his ears, as his vision was blurry. Once it cleared up, Danny found himself in a crater, with the destroyed remains of FentonWorks all around him.

Panicking, Danny tried to dig through the rubble, hoping that his friends were alright, even though he knew that it was impossible for them to. Using his intangibility he was able to scoop Jazz and Tucker from out underneath.

Taking their pulses, he started to sweat as his search for one turned up fruitless. Using every idea that came to him, he tried to bring them back, but for all of his powers, he couldn't stop death. Breaking down, he sobbed as he closed both of their eyelids, it was the least he could do for them. They did so much for him. 'Why?' he thought bitterly, "Why did this have to happen? How could it come to this? I...I couldn't sa-save them?"

"Danny?" even through the sounds of his own crying, he could still hear a weak voice calling for him. Pinpointing where the sound came from, he put his hand through the debris, and pulled. Out came Sam, all bruised, and bloodied up. "SAM!" he cried, laying her down to try and find a way to heal her injuries, "YOU'RE ALIVE!" he shouted in relief.

It soon evaporated when Sam's sad-filled eyes looked straight at him. "Danny," she said in a painful voice, as if the very act of speaking was killing her, "I..I..don't think I'm gonna make it."

Gripping her shoulders Danny gave her a serious stare, "NO! DON'T SAY THAT!" he cried in a desperate plea. Calming his voice down he continued, "Everything is going to be alright Sam, I'll get you to a hospital-"

"Danny...I...I'm...not going to survive...not this time...its over."

"No no no no, stop it, I'm going to save you." He tried to scoop her up in his arms, but Sam kept protesting.

"Please, Danny...we both know that this is the end."

"I'm so sorry Sam. I couldn't help you-" his constant apologies were interrupted as Sam gave him a weak glare in response.

"No...it's not your fault...don't blame yourself" her glare softened as she gave him a sad smile.

"I want you...to know...that...you've been a great friend...Danny" She kept going, no matter how much pain it was to speak, but damn it she was going to give her friend a goodbye. "I'm glad that I met you...you were the greatest thing that ever happened to me and I want you to know...that I love you."

Danny was taken aback by this, "You, you love me?" he asked.

Smiling even more, she nodded, "Since the beginning...I was just afraid to tell you."

"Sam." he interrupted. "I love you too, but I can't leave you here."

"Danny...promise me one thing?" Leaning towards Sam, he nodded. "Of course Sam, anything. What is it?"

"Promise me...promise me that you'll always stay true to yourself, that you'll always be the sweet, loyal, and kind guy that I fell in love with."

"I won't lose who I am. I promise you Sam." he swore as he gripped her hand tightly.

"Goodbye...Danny...I love you." Her final words finished, Sam relaxed as the life left her eyes.

He stood with Sam's lifeless body, until the authorities arrive. Not knowing how to explain the incident, Danny just stayed invisible the entire time, watching as the people he once loved were put into body bags. He stayed rooted to the spot he was standing in the entire time, even after everyone left. Maybe it was because he was still in shock, or refusing to move on from this, but eventually he left the scene of destruction that was once called home.

He attended the funerals for them all, invisible. He couldn't face the grieving parents of Sam and Tucker. After all, he was the reason that their children were dead. He did the same at his families funeral, he was the only one there except for his Aunt Alicia, but Danny wasn't really close with her. It seemed like it would be better to let her live her life in peace. There was also Vlad, but he knew that going with him would spell disaster.

With no where to go, he took to wandering around Amity Park. Occasionally stopping the few ghost attacks, or just flying around aimlessly. He would sometimes sneak into places like the Nasty Burger to get food. Usually he was in human form wearing a disguise when he did something like this. He would always feel pain whenever he was in his normal form, so he mostly stayed as Phantom. Little by little he started to prefer his ghost form over his human form. This would become a permanent behavior for him after he stumbled across a news broadcast. Turns out that there was a search for him, or his human half, but he guessed everyone gave up as he was declared dead.

He thought that it was appropriate, as he did die on the inside. It was then that he declared that he wasn't Danny Fenton anymore, as he died with his friends. He was just Danny Phantom now. Seeing that he had nothing left for him in Amity Park, and that Valerie was capable of protecting it, he decided it was time to start anew elsewhere.

* * *

Present:

'If only I could start a new life with a clean slate,' he thought, 'but thanks to Amity Park and the assholes in it, I couldn't even have that. They just can't stop themselves from making my life more hectic then it already is.'

It turns out that someone started a rumor that Danny Phantom was the one who caused the explosion, he didn't know how this came about. It could be that someone noticed his disappearance since the tragedy and thought they were connected, but that wasn't likely. Apparently someone ratted out his secret to the news people, and the knowledge of Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom being the same was widespread. To this day, Danny still wasn't sure who did it, but that wasn't the issue. The person also told them that Danny was responsible for the deaths. As the news spread, he was forced into hiding, with people under the belief that he was a murderer.

Now he had to live his life on the run, hopping from one location to the next. It was a constant routine, until he was finally cornered and brought in by the Justice League. Taken to the Watchtower, he was interrogated fiercely by the group until he finally convinced them of his innocence. This was mostly due to Martian Manhunter confirming the truth with his telepathy. Thanks to that he was saved from going to jail.

It might've been a relief to Danny, if it weren't the fact that the League decided to put him under their supervision. He had to stay in a private part of their headquarters, and wasn't allowed to wander around without being watched by a member of the league.

He was then handed to S.H.I.E.L.D where he met Nick Fury, a very intimating man with an eyepatch. There, he went through the same "Don't go anywhere I don't want you to" thing before he was eventually drafted into the Avengers after a background check. Back then, it seemed like the only path that he could take was to join.

One would've thought that being part of the Avengers would be a pretty cool experience. Well it was for the first few seconds, then he was regarded as a leper as all the members did their best to avoid him. It wasn't all that bad, there were those like Thor and Captain America who were civil to him. Others like Black Widow were mostly indifferent towards him. While members like Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye were downright hostile. It wasn't that they believed he was still a criminal, but the fact that he was too young in their eyes to be a superhero. In their eyes, he was some upstart who only knew how to play hero.

It kept going until he was voted off the team. Cap's face was devoid of any emotion as he informed Danny of the news. His excuse was that there was a personality conflict. That was a lie, Danny knew that they started to fear his power as he noticed the glint of wariness in their eyes whenever they looked at him. Even Bruce Banner, the Hulk, capable of destroying entire armies and going toe to toe against gods, wasn't an exception to this.

Knowing when he wasn't wanted he left and decided to go back to the League. At the time he was under the impression that being a superhero was the only thing that he could do with his life. The public still saw him as a villain because the so called 'heroes' were too busy to help him with clearing his name. So he approached them, and asked if he could join. They had to come to a vote regarding the decision and it was decided that Danny would join. He wouldn't be a member, but he would be given the opportunity to work his way up to one.

Danny knew it wouldn't be easy. Still, he figured that he wouldn't have to put up with any more mistrust. It turns out that the Justice League were no better then the Avengers, as he was once again a social pariah. Most members of the League thought he was also too young, and that he was a potential threat. Brushing these claims off, Danny kept on doing his duty to being part of the Justice League.

His reward was being put with the Titans. It was clear that the League didn't want to have Danny as one of their own so they just decided to get rid of him.

His third team, the Teen Titans, was actually better than the previous groups. For one thing, they were all around the same age, so there was no "your too young" opinions. Also, he was able to bond with them, as they had very friendly personalities. It wasn't all perfect though, there were the occasional arguments among the team, but that's always bound to happen. The real problem was Jump City, because they couldn't accept the fact that a so called "criminal was on their team." What happened was that neither the Avengers or the Justice League tried to clear his name. They told the authorities he wasn't innocent, but made no effort to inform the public. It could've been because they didn't want to infuriate the public and have them turn on them. So it was really tense with the team as they had to deal with the people protesting for Danny's removal.

He thought it would be the end of their friendship, but surprisingly they stuck by him. They didn't kick him off or treat him any different. He was still one of them. He was a Titan and he would continue to try and prove his intentions were good.

Sadly, all of his efforts went crashing down. Then it came, the lies, the betrayal, and...the lab. How his teammates turned on him. All because of a crime that he didn't commit. He couldn't recall what the crime was, but he knew he was innocent. He remembered that. It was the only thing that he had to keep him sane during the years that he was with the GIW. His body started shaking a bit, as for a moment he struggled to breathe.

Seeing his master's distress, Cujo snuggled into Danny as he tried to comfort his master. Hugging Cujo to his chest, Danny sobbed as all the memories of torture and humiliation came flooding back. The time where, they cut out one of his eyes, or that time where they poured liquid ecto-ranium on him. They said it was to test on how fast it could deteriorate a ghost, but Danny was certain that they did it just for the fun of it.

Despite all the damage they've done, Danny's body healed all of the injuries. Regeneration, one of his newest powers that he received. One would think that would be a good thing and it was, but that only gave them the opportunity to repeat the same atrocious acts. Death itself could not grant Danny salvation from the Guys in White. He was gonna be there forever, and he would be walking on nails for all eternity.

That was, until Vlad and Dani broke into the compound. Of all the people, Danny never thought Vlad would come to his rescue. Sure, he knew Dani would be someone to help him, but Vlad? However, Danny wasn't going to complain. He remember the tears of relief and joy when Vlad carried his body out, as they flew away. Danny remember the horrid deaths of the people in the lab, and he remembered the sheer anger in Vlad's eyes as he saw what had been done to him.

For the next couple of months, Danny spent time recovering with Vlad and Dani at his mansion in Wisconsin. Miraculously, they were able to put their differences behind them, as they sought comfort with each other. They, the only three beings who could relate to each other, but Danny couldn't stay. No matter how much it pained him to leave, he had to. If he stayed he would only be further tempted into asking Vlad to remove his human half. No matter how much he didn't give a fuck about the world, he couldn't find it in him to leave it to the mercy of a newly created Dan Phantom.

Before he could leave, it seemed that he had to endure one more tragedy, as the GIW invaded the mansion. The three halfas fought together to stop the invading GIW. Their powers allowed them to put up a good fight. Sadly, the GIW's numbers more than made them an even match. The GIW proved their credibility when they killed Dani. She was shot to death by their weapons. Using Danny's ectoplasm that they gathered from their experiments they were able to make more efficient weapons. Only through sheer luck did Danny escape with his life, while Vlad's fate was uncertain. Danny still wondered if the man was okay. He didn't want to leave him, but Vlad told him to run. Saying goodbye to Vlad one last time he left.

While fleeing from the soldiers, he discovered a tracking implant inside him. Realizing this is how they tracked them down he removed it. Now confident he couldn't be tracked, the young man took refuge in a homeless shelter in his human form. He was able to avoid being recognized by wearing a disguise. A simple blonde wig and brown contacts and behold he was undetectable. Appearance wasn't the only thing he changed. He took on the name Billy Powers. It was a weird name, but original. A couple of months later, he reckoned that it was time to go somewhere else.

The thing was, he didn't know where he would go. Going back to being a hero was out of the question, not after what they did to him. They may have been heroes in the public's eyes, but to Danny they were monsters. Throwing him into the clutches of the GIW, Danny would never forgive them. Deciding that both Phantom and Fenton were dead, it was time to start an ordinary new life. He found work and was later able to afford an apartment. The days continued as he lived a life that wasn't about saving people or stopping bad guys.

It wasn't peaceful because even as Billy Powers he couldn't get a break. The job he had was a complete nightmare and to think that he fell so low because of some self-righteous superheroes. The old anger that he held since the betrayal started to return, but Danny tried to suppress it. Even the horrors of the Guys in White couldn't compare to the trauma he suffered from his encounter with Dan.

The untold power he wielded, and how he used it to ravage everything he encountered, brought a shiver to Danny's spine. He recalled the hundreds of times he would wake up in a cold sweat at the nightmares Dan brought. Nightmares that usually consisted of Dan killing the people he loved. Leaving Danny scared that one day Dan would return, and that he would finish what he started. That his friends and family would die.

'But then again, he's too late they're all gone.' Danny closed his eyes trying to forget how the ones who truly loved him were gone.

He could never hear one of Jazz's lectures that, although were annoying, showed that she cared for her little brother. How she always looked out for him at home and how she even helped him keep his secret from his parents. Even driving him to school some times, which was much appreciated when the alternative was riding in the RV.

He could never hear Tucker go on about the newest gadgets or how he was "Too Fine" to be single. No more being reminded of his constant love of meat, that honestly sounded like an addiction. Hell, he even missed it whenever he'd complain about losing one of his PDAs. Even though he had dozens of them in his possession.

Most of all Danny would never see Sam again. Never able to gaze again at her violet eyes that always held worry in them when Danny would return injured from a dangerous battle. Never again, could he listen to one of her rant's about protecting the environment and how she was a vegetarian. They were nothing more than memories. Memories that once made him happy, now they brought nothing, but grief.

"I loved you Sam." He spoke, as if she could hear him. "I just wish that I realized it sooner." Sam was the only girl that he could have a relationship with. Paulina and Valerie loved one half of him and hated the other, but Sam loved all of him. She would always go on to tell Danny that he was unique and that his powers made him special. After her death, he thought that no one would love him like Sam. That he would never find someone else. There was one girl who Danny thought would return his feelings. Unfortunately, it never worked out, as she never returned his feelings and made it very clear vocally.

'Well she made her feelings clear, there's no point in getting upset about it, the only thing you can do now is to move on.' and Danny would. The only thing he could do now was to put the past behind him, there was no use in trying to get revenge or retribution. He knew that if he went down that path he would become just like Dan. Petting Cujo, Danny laid down in bed and got under the covers. Holding Cujo in one of his arms, he made himself comfortable and eventually sleep claimed him.

It wouldn't last for more than two hours. When the restlessness returned Danny got out from under the covers, careful not to wake Cujo. Satisfied, that he was undisturbed, he grabbed a couple of photographs and sat on the edge of the bed.

The moon shined through his window as the clock kept on ticking. In the silence of the night, he gazed at the photos in his hand. Staring at the first which showed him and his family. All of them were smiling happily at the camera, there was a sense of love among this group. The feeling that they'll stay together no matter what happens. Another of him and his friends. Innocence was all that shined on their faces, a friendship that was like a flame. A flame that would never go out.

Finally there was him and the Titans. They were all facing the camera with the Titan Tower behind them. They all had different emotions on their faces. In the center he could see himself, with a face of joy at finally finding another family. To his right he was greeted by the smiling faces of Beast Boy and Cyborg, as he recalled all the fun they had whenever they hung out together. Whether it was helping Cyborg with his car or playing videogames with Beast Boy to try to see who could get the higher score. The three of them were like brothers in all but blood.

On his left was Starfire, with her adorable excitement. She always managed to keep a smile on her face, always intrigued by Earth's culture. A smile appeared on his face as all of the dishes that she tried to make came to mind. Despite her sweet personality, she was a horrible cook. The recipes of her homeworld were something she tried to share with the rest of the team. Flattering as it was, it only brought apprehension and nervousness on her friends' faces as they looked at the foreign monstrous dish. He let out an amused chuckle at the memory of the disgusted reactions that they had whenever they laid eyes on one of her meals.

The small smile on his was replaced by a frown as he saw the person on Starfire's left. Robin. To think that he saw him as a friend, that he saw elements of himself in the guy. A guy who had an urge to bring justice to anyone who tried to hurt innocent people. Sure they had their differences, but he never thought that Robin would turn on him in an instant. Then again, he should have expected this as Robin was known for his paranoia. Something that was passed down to him by his mentor. The glare that he gave Danny when it happened, he looked at him as if he was a murderer. As if all the moments they spent together as a team meant nothing. No hesitation, no remorse, nothing. Not even a hint of a doubt.

'I guess the Boy Wonder thinks that he can never be wrong, just like a certain rodent mentor of his.' he mused.

It took him quite a bit of restraint to keep himself from crushing the photo in his hands as he saw the last titan. Not even looking directly at the camera, as she tried to not be noticed. A blank look was all that she had as she stood disinterestedly next to Robin. Violet eyes that showed no emotion when she ripped his heart out and crushed it in the palm of her hand. After Sam's death he thought that he would never be able to love again.

That was until he met Raven, he thought that she was beautiful with her violet hair, and pale skin. Even though she would always isolate herself in her room, Danny couldn't help but have feelings for her. Maybe it was because she reminded him of Sam, or that he saw her as someone who understood what it was like to be alone. Whatever the case, Raven didn't return his feelings, she only saw him as an abomination, just like the rest of the world. She even tried to use his feelings to apprehend him, when everyone thought he was a criminal.

'I thought we were a team, that we were family.' he thought miserably. 'Raven, I thought that you cared.' He didn't know why he kept this picture, they didn't deserve to be remembered. Forgetting their faces would be something that Danny was in full favor of, but for some reason he couldn't. Every time he came close to doing it, he would always stop himself at the last minute. It didn't mean that he wasn't angry at them anymore. Quite the opposite really.

They should just count themselves lucky that he's keeping his promise not to become something like Dan. If it weren't for that, there would be newspapers talking about how the Teen Titans and their rotting corpses were found. For a second his eyes saw red before deciding that getting angry was useless. Throwing the photos into a drawer, Danny laid down back in bed, taking a couple of breaths to calm him down. Holding Cujo to his side, Danny started naming the constellations in his head, hoping to take his mind off his troubles. Calmed down and relaxed, Danny drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Black that's all Danny could see. An endless void of blackness. 'What?' he thought. 'What is this place?' As he turned around to examine his surroundings, he realized that he was standing on something, so he wasn't just floating in some empty dimension in space. Still, he couldn't figure out where he was.

'How did I get here? I was sleeping in my bed and now I'm here. This doesn't make any sense.' Seeing no other choice Danny started walking in a direction that he picked randomly. For what felt like hours, Danny kept on walking as he tried to find his way out.

'How messed up is my life, if something like this isn't really that out of place for me?' A glint of light was soon caught in the corner of his eyes. As he observed it, he noticed that it was a sort of pale blueish kind of light. By the way that it flickered, it looked as those it was a sort of fire.

"Why Danny?" A shiver went up Danny's spine as he heard the same voice that haunted his nightmares. Turning around he saw him. The only source of light being his flaming hair. Showing the malevolent face of the monster in front of him. The monster he could become. However, there was something different about him. There was no smugness or malice on his face. There was just a look of confusion on his face.

"Why do you keep doing this Danny?" he asked. "Why do you hinder yourself? Your holding back your true potential. What're you hoping you'll accomplish?"

"I'm hoping that I never turn into you. I made a promise to my friends and family that I'll never become you, and I'm keeping that promise."

Dan looked at Danny as if he were a small child who was ignorant about something that was very obvious. "What friends? What family? Your parents hated you remember. When they found out what you are, they tried to get rid of your ghost half. They saw it as nothing more than a disease that needed to be cured. Why keep a promise to them? They couldn't keep their love for you, so why do them any favors? Besides, you got no family left, so there's no point in keeping some ridiculous promise."

"I don't care if they're gone, I wont break my promise." Danny declared. At this Dan raised an eyebrow.

"You mean a promise where you take everything the world throws at you. To put up with all of those ungrateful townspeople who called you a menace, even though if it weren't for you they'd be dead by now." he stated with bitterness in his voice. "Or how about the superheroes that always looked at us like we would hurt someone when they weren't looking. The Avengers, the Justice League, oh and what about the Teen Titans, hmm?" Dan asked mockingly. "The same people you called brothers and the the same people who sent you to the Guys In White. All without so much as a second thought."

Danny pondered on his words. It was true that he never was really trusted by the other heroes. Thanks to Freakshow mind control orb, and Walker he had to put up with everyone thinking he was a menace. No matter how much he tried to prove that he wasn't evil, that he just wanted to help, no one believed him. Although, he did manage to convince the Titans and the other heroes that he was framed, but that doesn't really matter anymore.

"They never were your friends Danny." Dan continued, "The only people who did give a crap about you were Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, but even that's unlikely."

"SHUT UP!" Danny cried, "YOUR WRONG! THEY DID CARE ABOUT ME! ALL OF THEM! SAM, TUCKER, JAZZ, THEY WERE MY FRIENDS AND THEY ALWAYS HAD MY BACK! THATS WHY IM KEEPING MY PROMISE!"

"What promise?" Dan asked, "A promise that no matter how much shit the world gives you, you can't do anything about it. You just have to put up with it. That they can do anything to you, but you can't fight back. What kind of promise is that?"

"You know why. If I go down that path I'll turn into you and I'll never let that happen."

"You really believe that?" Dan asked, clearly thinking that Danny wasn't being serious.

"I won't become you. Your too late, Vlad is gone, so his ghost half can't corrupt mine." At this Dan started laughing hysterically, like Danny had told a hilarious joke.

"Oh you are such a child. Do you really think that fruit loop was the one who made me what I am. Please." he said in a dismissive tone. "I'm not some hybrid of you and Plasmius, I'm a hundred percent you."

"But in the future, Vlad told me-" Danny protested before Dan interrupted him.

"Cheesehead only told you what he thought happened, not what actually happened. You see Danny when I ripped out my humanity I also took out half of my emotions. My personality was split in half. Just like that one time you did with the the Fenton Ghost Catcher. One half had half of your personality and the other half had the other parts of your personality. It just so happens that the time I ripped out my humanity. My ghost half had all of the negative emotions, like hatred and greed, while the human half had the other emotions like sadness and joy. I didn't merge with Vlad's ghost half. I absorbed it."

Danny was shocked at the information that was presented to him. It did make sense, since Dan always referred to himself as a future version of himself. He never made it seem like he was a hybrid of him and Vlad. Deep down he knew this, but he kept telling himself that it was Vlad's ghost half that corrupted him. It helped ease the guilt he felt (if only barely) and thought that he wasn't entirely responsible. But Dan's words held a lot of truth. Even if he didn't absorb Vlad's ghost half. It didn't mean that he couldn't become like Dan. His horrified realization was cut off by Dan.

"Now if your wondering why I look like this," he said as he pointed at his face, "I'll tell you. The appearance of a ghost reflects their emotional state. Now since I only had anger I turned into this. Usually the transformation is gradual, but not in my case. When I absorbed Vlad's half I also absorbed his emotions. We both know that he has a lot of bitterness in him so when I absorbed it, I took in his hate. This ended up causing me to look like this. So Plasmius didn't corrupt me, he just gave me a little nudge into being the person that I am and the person that you'll be." he stated.

"I don't care what you say. I won't go down your path. Never."

"And what path will you go down, Danny? There's no other option. I mean you could just spend the rest of your days in solitude, living miserably while everyone else around you lives in luxury. To be pushed aside by anyone you encounter. Is that the path you want to go down?" Dan replied, "You're all alone, there's no point in trying to be selfless. Just look at where's it got you. What's the point? Let it out, embrace what you are, and you will have a power you've never known."

'He's right.' a part of him thought. 'Why keep going? There's nothing left for us. The world took everything from us, we might as well take everything back.' Danny knew that it was true. He had nothing. Nothing worth fighting for. So why keep going?

'No.' he thought. 'I'll won't give up. I might not anything left, but I'm not going down that easily. If the world will hate me than so be it. I'll fight like I've always have.' With his purpose clear, Danny fired an ectoblast at Dan. However, Dan vanished before the blast could hit him. Looking around him, Danny tried to find Dan, but he was all alone.

"This isn't over Danny." Dan's voice echoed. "In the end you will become me, it is inevitable. I am your destiny."

* * *

B-r-r-r-ingggg!

Danny woke up in a cold sweat as his alarm clocked screamed like a banshee. Turning it off, he laid in bed for a few seconds. Just staring at the ceiling.

This was the twelfth time this month that he dreamed about Dan. Ever since he got out of that hellhole, he dreamt of Dan almost every night. Always the same, Dan taunting him with all of his failures. How he was forgotten and left to rot by the people around him.

'Is he right?' he thought. 'Will I always be alone, forever?' Danny tried to tell himself that Dan was just lying, that it wasn't true, but he couldn't get rid of the doubt in his mind. 'I mean what's the point? The Titans hate me, the Avengers hate me, and the Justice League hate me.' A huge surge of anger swelled through his body at what he's become. All thanks to the people around him, the superheroes, the public, humanity as a whole. They've done nothing, but sneer and ridicule him. Just for trying to prevent their meager lives from being killed. Sacrificing all of his personal responsibilities and dreams to keep those constant whiners happy.

Heading to the bathroom, he started to undress as he prepared for a shower. Taking a glance at a mirror he briefly noticed something about his reflection. Staring right back at the mirror, Danny couldn't even recognize his own reflection staring back at him. Looking into his eyes he saw a guy with a haunted, depressed, broken look that portrayed the true depths of the sadness that laid in his soul.

Once upon a time, those baby blue eyes were filled with a bright light that was filled with adventure. Displaying a courage that would never bow down to any form of darkness it encountered.

Now, that innocence was lost. Sorrow was all that he could see in front of him.

His raven hair was still the same. Which was sort of pointless since he always hid it under a wig.

Opening the glass cupboard, he got his anti-depressants out. His therapist prescribed it to him, saying it would help a bit. Frankly, it was as helpful as a narcoleptic college professor, but he still took it. It was the only thing left that he'd hope would change his outlook on life.

'Come on, Fenton. You got to be strong. You got to let it go.' There was no time for self pity, after all his shift starts in 45 minutes. He wasted enough time with this sob fest. It was time to get a move on.

Brushing it off, Danny got into the shower as he let the warm water flow down his body. He really couldn't let his emotions get to him right now. It would only make his shift worse and he really didn't need that right now.

After a couple of minutes, Danny emerged from the shower as he dried himself off. Getting his uniform on, he waved goodbye to Cujo as he headed out. His apartment wasn't far from where he worked, so he could get there just by walking. Which was great, since he didn't have the money to pay for a car.

Danny was on his way, when he heard a cry for help. Looking down the alleyway beside him, he saw a couple of thugs beating on a homeless man. 'I can't be late for work. I know its wrong, but I can't risk losing my job.' He kept on walking, but could get only a couple of feet before his guilt finally convinced him to do the right thing.

"HEY!" he shouted as he charged at the two brutes. Once he was in fighting distance, Danny punched them both in the face. As they were nursing their bruising faces, Danny then used a foot sweep to knock them on their backs.

Glaring at their terrified faces, Danny gave the two one single command.

"Leave him alone."

Nodding at his demand, the two got up and ran away from the two. With those two taken care of, Danny turned towards the homeless man.

"You okay?"

The man nodded as he looked at Danny with a face of gratitude. "I am now thanks to you. God bless you sir."

Smiling at the man, Danny said goodbye as he started running. Praying that he'd make it on time.

* * *

Running with all his might, he was still unable to get their on time. Danny eventually did reach his destination. Glaring at the sign that proudly displayed the words Mama Tortellini's with annoyance, Danny resigned himself to his fate and went in.

Immediately, he was seen by the manager, Mr. Pascal, who made his way towards Danny with anger clearly visible on his face. Danny knew that this encounter wasn't going to be pleasant. Ever since he was hired, Mr. Pascal seemed to have an instant dislike towards Danny, although he couldn't imagine why. He never was late to work, well until now, and he didn't slack off, but it didn't matter to him. From what he gathered, Mr. Pascal didn't seemed to like anyone.

'Maybe he has a stick up his ass?' he thought. 'It wouldn't surprise me if he did.' His amusement was cut short when Mr. Pascal reached the source of his bad mood.

"Billy." he scolded using his fake name. "Your five minutes late to work." He sneered at Danny with disdain as he continued, "Look I don't know how it works in your world, but in the real world, people have to be on time." Pascal pointed towards the clock in the restaurant as he continued his rant. "Punctuation is a responsibility that all employees must follow, but you wouldn't know that would you Powers?" He started Jabbing his finger into Danny's chest, "I expect you to follow the rules just like all the others."

"Mr. Pascal," Danny replied, "I wasn't late on purpose, there were these guys harassing a homeless man and I just couldn't let them-"

"Billy," Pascal interrupted. "That's none of my concern. You want to play hero, huh? Well do it on someone else's time, not mine."

"But I wasn't even suppose to come in today. I only just got the heads up when you called me at nine o'clock, last night." he protested.

"Well then, if you want to take a day off then go ahead. Hell, I'll give you tomorrow off and then the next day and the next day. You know what? Why don't I give you everyday off? Hmm? How about that, Billy. Would you like that?"

"No." Danny replied exasperatedly.

"Then get to work Billy, I don't have time to deal with slackers like you." With his thoughts expressed, Mr. Pascal left Danny as he went to yell at someone else.

Danny stepped into his role as a waiter, bringing dishes to the customers. It wouldn't be that bad, if it weren't for customers that were testing his patience. There were the constant complaints, that the food was too cold or that there wasn't enough sauce. He wouldn't have minded if they were polite about it, but no, they just snapped at him like he was the one who ruined their food.

The food was coming in slow today, making the diners wait impatiently. Deciding to see what the problem was before the customers turned their ire on him, he went into the kitchen.

"Hey what's the hold up? The people out there are getting impatient, they want their food."

Inside the kitchen he got the answer to his question, as he saw a couple of plumbers trying to fix the dishwasher. It was the fifth time this week, but the owner was too cheap to buy a new one. By the plumbers were some of the cooks who were washing the dishes by hand, no matter how difficult it was removing it. Water was also leaking and pouring out into the dining room.

"They'll get their food once these dishes are clean!" cried one of the workers. After being scolded by Mr. Pascal once again for not being in the dining area, Danny left the kitchen.

As he took the orders from the customers, while avoiding the puddle of water on the floor. 'This place can't even afford a wet floor sign.' Continuing with his job, Danny went back to putting up with the customers. Normally, they weren't a problem, but today it seemed that they just wanted to piss him off. There was one guy who got angry at him because they took off one of the dishes from the menu. A woman who claimed that there was hair in her spaghetti, which was untrue because Danny saw her put a piece of her hair in it. As annoying as these people were, but it didn't compare to the next customer that he'd have to deal with.

A portly man was the one who irritated Danny the most. He had grey hair and a mustache, and was wearing an ugly Hawaiian shirt with colors that made Danny want to puke. Public decency seemed to be something unknown to this guy, as he kept on shoveling food down his throat. Massive amounts of plates were on the table, all emptied by the customer.

'Christ, even my dad wasn't this bad.' he thought. He also took notice that the man's son was seated at the table. Sporting a massive gut to match his fathers. The little piglet was digging into the huge bowl of pasta that was in front of him. Finishing the bowl, the child began to bang his fists on the table as he cried for more.

"MORE!, I WANT MORE!" the brat cried. Everyone's eyes turned to the little boy that was crying his lungs out. Trying to restore peace and order, Danny approached the father and son.

"Sir?" The man didn't respond still eating like there was no tomorrow.

"Sir?" Again no response.

"SIR!" Danny yelled, clearly irritated at the man's ignorance of his son's behavior. It was only when the man finally turned his attention away from his food did Danny continue. "Your gonna need to get your kid to be quiet, or I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The glutton narrowed his beady eyes at Danny. Looking at him like he was the rude one. "Well then I suggest you bring more food for him. He's a growing boy who needs to eat his daily meals."

Trying not to roll his eyes, Danny responded, "Sir we can't have our customers scream, your kid needs to be quiet or I'll be forced to ask you to leave."

"Don't you blame my boy, he's just waiting for his food. This wouldn't happen if it wasn't for you and your incompetence." he said in a matter of fact voice.

"I'm sorry, but were having a bit of trouble, the dish washer is broken, so it'll take much longer to get clean dishes. It'll only be a few minutes longer." Danny said in a more apologetic tone. Trying to prevent the situation from escalating into something ugly.

The obese man got up. Key word is tried, as it took him quite a few tries to get out of his booth, but when he did he got up in Danny's face.

"Listen here you little runt, I pay the same amount of money as all these people do and I'm not going to let some uneducated punk like you tell me how to raise my son."

Seeing that the irate man was causing a scene, Danny tried to use a different tactic to calm the man down. "Listen" he said with a bit of calmness forced into his voice, "I just need your kid to quiet down a bit, we just don't want to disturb the other customers. So can you please tell your kid to calm down so I don't have to be forced to kick you out?" he pleaded with a bit of desperation in his voice. He didn't really need Pascal to drop in and find another excuse to dock his pay.

"Don't tell me how to parent my kid, I work six hours a day just to provide for my family and I'm not going to let some unscrupulous hoodlum tell me how I need to live my life." The man responded with a hint of red starting to grow on his face. Danny was surprised that the man had somewhat of an intelligent vocabulary. 'Who knew that even a Buffon can be taught something.' he smirked to himself.

"What are you smirking at?!" Turning his attention back to the aggravated gentlemen, Danny put on a neutral expression on his face.

"I don't know what you talking about." he said.

"Yes you do you were smirking at me like you thought something was funny." he insisted with rage. "Is it because I'm fat?" he questioned, "Huh? Is my weight funny to you?

"No sir." Danny denied. "Its just that, I...umm...you see...uhh" trying to explain in a way that wouldn't insult the person who clearly had anger issues.

"Just because I weigh a couple more pounds doesn't mean you can harass me whenever you want. I deserve the same respect that everyone else gets."

Gritting his teeth, Danny gave the man a forced smile, "I wasn't trying to offend you sir," he said in what he hoped was a calm voice, but it only came off as passive-aggressive.

"DON'T YOU LIE TO ME BOY!" The man bellowed. "I GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO THEN PUT UP WITH SOME LOSER WHO NEVER GOT ANYWHERE!"

From the corner of his eye, Danny saw Pascal making his way towards them with displeasure written on his face. 'Ah shit' Danny thought. It seemed like this day kept getting worse for him.

"BILLY!" Pascal shouted. "Why are you causing a commotion, I thought I told you that I expected more professionalism out of you and now look at you arguing with customers."

"No Sir, I was just informing him that he would have to get his son to lower his voice, or they would have to leave."

"Nonsense." The man claimed, "This boy is lying, I was just minding my own business with my son as we were eating our meals, when this asshole came up and started making fun of my weight. He even made my son cry." If looks could kill, Danny would be three feet under with the glare that Pascal was giving him.

Turning back to the outraged person he put on a sympathetic face. "I'm terribly sorry, I'll straighten this employee out, after all we expect our servers to be civil to our guests. Just give me a few minutes and you'll be given another server and your next meal will be on the house."

"Now that's more like it" he said, grinning victoriously. "Be sure to whip this one into shape," he sneered at Danny in contempt. "He's got a real attitude problem."

"Not to worry, Billy here will get his act together," he promised. "Or he's out of here." Giving Danny a distasteful look and grabbing him by the arm, he gave one last apology to the customer. "Once again I'm sorry and I hope you enjoy your food." Satisfied that a crisis had been averted, he then started to drag Danny to the back. Danny ended up being nearly thrown into one of the storage rooms, as Pascal followed him.

Closing the door, the snob then fixed Danny with a threatening look. Or what he thought was a threatening look, but Danny had seen scarier things than his boss and wasn't going to be cowed into submission.

All the other times, Danny would just take the verbal abuse, but not this time. A fire rose in his eyes as his body started to tense up in aggression. Like an animal about to defend itself from a predator. Once a brave defender and now this. Taking crap from some brown-nosing pig. Is this the thanks he get for sticking his neck out for everyone around him. Putting up with everyone's dismissals and protests. No. Not ever again. His hands started clenching.

"Wonder if he'd still act tough with my hands around his throat?" Grinning a bit at the fantasy. "Maybe, a punch to his face. Make it strong enough that I could break his nose. I'm sure that would get the message across." His brain raging with thoughts of retribution and violence. He was about to lift his hand.

But it wouldn't move.

"WAIT!" A voice in his head screamed. "DON'T DO IT!" Blinking in confusion he started to ponder on what just happened. Pascal was laying into him and he was planning on getting some revenge when something stopped him. What was it? Who or what was this voice? Was some ghost playing a trick on him, like Youngblood did? Could it possibly be some kind of mind control? Like that one incident with Freakshow's orb.

Now that the burning desire for vengeance now less intense, the revelation came to him instantly. It was his own voice. 'Probably telling me to stop so I wouldn't end up giving Pascal more ammunition against me.' He mused. 'Probably for the best. I guess my subconscious didn't want me to lose this job." With that sorted out he turned his attention back to his manager who was now leaving, finished with his tirade.

Confused with what just happened, he went back to his job. 'Must've gotten so angry that I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying.' he rationalized. 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Pascal would have that affect on his own kids if he had any." Laughing at his own joke, he returned to serving the guests. It had been about twenty minutes when Danny's world would change forever.

'RING' Hearing the bell that was on the entrance, his attention grasped on the group of people that entered.

One was a man with brown hair who was wearing a beige shirt underneath a brown jacket with blue jeans. Oddly enough, he was also wearing some particular sunglasses. The lenses were red which really made him stand out. The man also didn't bother to take them off, despite being indoors. 'Can't blame him. If I had cool shades like those, I wouldn't take them off either.' He noticed that the man's posture was that of a soldier ready to take charge if danger came.

Next to the man was a red headed-woman who wore a blue tank top with jeans. She gave off a an aura of compassion and generosity. Danny noticed that she and the man with sunglasses were holding hands. 'Must be a couple then.' Her smile was radiant and her demeanor came off as a patient friend who was always there to listen to another friend's troubles and insecurities.

The third person was a man who had blue hair of all things. He was wearing a brown shirt and jeans, like the other man, but he was a bit shorter. However, that didn't subtract from the intimidating look that he had. On his face was a glare that seemed to be his default expression. His eyes conveyed a primal rage that could be unleashed at any time. He walked like an animal that was always on the hunt. 'He seems like he could be trouble, best if I don't mess with him.' he told himself.

Next, there was a woman who also had a strange hairstyle. All of her hair was white. He wondered if it was dyed or natural. She was wearing a black shirt underneath a red blouse, with black pants and brown boots. She had a reserved look on her face, as if she had mastered the art of controlling ones emotions. Danny could also see that she had an intense look in her eyes as if she held great power in the palm of her hands. Her serene demeanor sort of reminded Danny of Raven, so he shifted his gaze away from her.

The following person that caught his attention was a good looking man. A cocky smile laid on his face showing that he was aware that ladies from all around the world were lusting after him. He had brown hair that was wrapped in a ponytail, but the most particular thing about this man were his eyes. They were burning red with some kind of kinetic energy. His attire consisted of some kind of pink armor on the chest area, blue boots, and a trench coat. If that wasn't strange enough his gloves also had some fingers missing.

'And I though my parents dressed weirdly.' There was also some kind of headgear that he was wearing on his head. 'Must be some new fad.' he summarized. 'Either that, or this guy is some kind of wackjob.'

Not all of them were adults, one of the newcomers was a teenager. She was wearing a pink shirt and blue pants with a peculiar yellow jacket that looked like a raincoat. Her hair was black with flashy pink sunglasses on her head. Overall, she came across as a source of innocence, but with some spunk mixed in. The girl also seemed to be close with the feral man, seeing how she was talking excitingly with him.

'How long has it been since I was like her, not having to worry about protecting the town? Just being a teen and doing teen things?' he asked himself. To think there was a time that he didn't have to worry about fighting ghosts, or making sure his parents didn't find out his secret. Life for him was once just trying to climb the social ladder in high school. To fit in as one of the cool kids and try to get a date with a cute girl, but fate had other plans.

Pressing the button on that portal was like pressing the reset button on one of his old video game consoles. Once you hit it, there was no going back. Life was now about trying to survive to the next day intact, and trying to make sure no one else got hurt in any of the battles he fought.

'Sam, Jazz, and Tucker,' he thought, 'they would've still been alive. And I wouldn't have met the titans. No, snap out of it! I have to get it together.' Putting his angst-ridden thoughts behind him, he took in the last member of the group.

'Wow.' Danny thought as he tried to keep his mouth from opening and wow was right. In front of him was the walking definition of beauty incarnate. She was probably the hottest woman that Danny ever saw in his life. Her face was something that belonged on a supermodel or a primordial goddess of eternal beauty. The lusciousness of her lips made Danny want to taste them so bad, but it didn't distract form the green eyes that had so much passion and spirit in them.

She had an interesting hairstyle as well. It looked like something out of the eighties, but it made her look like a wild gal. It was an auburn color, but with a streak of white going down the middle. It gave off a kind of bride of Frankenstein look. That wasn't all as she had a figure that any woman would kill for, which was complimented by the pink dress that she was wearing. The dress was above the knee showing the world her bare legs that eccentricated her figure. A pair of pink flats completed the outfit. Overall, she was any guy's dream girl.

'Snap out of it. It's never going to happen.' As he got over his admiration of the woman, he quickly got back to his task at hand, as he didn't want to look like a creep for staring. Making his rounds across the dining room, he soon greeted the new guests once they got situated at a table. "Welcome to Mama Tortellini's, what can I get you?"

The man with the red tinted glasses responded, "Jean and I," pointing at the red headed woman beside him, "will have the arugula salad with prosciutto and oyster mushrooms." Gesturing to the blue haired man, "Logan will have-"

"Clam it Cyke I don't need you to order for me," the man, now dubbed Logan, said. He also mumbled something that Danny couldn't catch. Looking at Danny he said, "You can just give me lasagna, bub." Danny wrote it down and began taking the others orders.

"I'll have some spaghetti please," said the white haired woman.

"Same..uh..here," the teenager said. 'She must be a bit nervous talking to strangers,' he guessed. Not registering the blush that was on her face as she looked at him.

"Remy will take de ravioli mon amie." said the man, now called Remy, with burning eyes in a Cajun accent.

It then came to the auburn haired woman, "Ah'll have the lasagna too, sugah," she replied in a southern accent that made Danny's body feel like warm honey. Shaking himself out of his daze he began to focus on the task at hand. 'She would never be into me, so why bother?'

After writing down their orders, he told them that he be back with their dishes in a little bit. Placing the orders in the kitchen, Danny would later return to deliver their food, when he passed by the portly man's table.

Unaware to him, the man stuck out his leg. Danny didn't notice it until he tripped, dropping all the dishes of food as the plates broke when they made contact. Confused and taken aback by what just happened, Danny stared at the ruined dishes in disbelief. Next thing he knew, laughter broke out in the restaurant. There was the portly man and his son taking joy in his misfortune. It wasn't just them, as some of the the other patrons joined in and Danny could even catch a few of his coworkers holding back a few snickers of amusement.

It may have been the people in the restaurant laughing, but to Danny it felt like everyone was laughing at him. The Avengers, the Justice League, the Titans, and the rest of the world. Making fun of him, mocking him. Reminding him that he wasn't fit to lick the dirt from their boots. Telling him that he was just some incompetent weakling that would never live up to their standards.

Danny felt the rage return as he glared at the two responsible for his predicament with all the loathing that he could muster. In his fury, he failed to notice the green light of his ghost eyes shining thorough the contacts.

**A/N: Well here's a chapter that finally has Danny in it. Hope you enjoyed. In the meantime, I'll see if I can find a new beta reader. If not, I'll still keep updating. Although it may be slow.**


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